Bhubaneswar: Sasmita Lenka, a female forest officer from Odisha, has been awarded with United Nation’s Asia Environmental Enforcement Award for her remarkable work in busting pangolin smuggling rackets in the State.
Lenka, the Divisional Forest Officer of Athagarh, received the award under the ‘Gender Leadership and Impact’ category.
Lenka has helped in busting an international network of pangolin in Athagarh. She had also announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for information about suspects.
She has reportedly spearheaded her team for busting the rampant live pangolin smuggling racket by apprehending over 28 persons and seizing three live pangolins as well as one dead.
The pangolins were being supplied to China, Vietnam, and Myanmar for black marketing.
Lenka also conducted many campaigns to create awareness among the locals about the illegal trade of pangolins which are considered as critically endangered on the IUCN red list of threatened species.
