News Analysis India

Tag: Kaziranga National Park

  • Video: PM Modi Takes Elephant, Jeep Safari In Assam’s Kaziranga National Park |

    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-visit to Assam undertook a jungle safari at the Kazirange National Park early on Saturday morning, news agency ANI reported. PM Modi also took an elephant safari at the park. The Park authorities had made arrangements for both jeep and elephant safaris. He will be there for around two hours, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying. PM Modi reached Assam on Friday for a two-day visit, during which he will launch and lay the foundation of projects worth Rs 18,000 crore.

    Modi arrived at Salonibari airport in Tezpur in the afternoon, where he was greeted by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others. He then took a helicopter to Panbari in Kaziranga, where he was received by Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, along with Sarma and others, who welcomed the PM again as he landed there.

    #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam today. The PM also took an elephant safari here. pic.twitter.com/Kck92SKIhp
    — ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024

    The PM completed the final part of his journey of about 15 kms from the Panbari helipad to the Police Guest House near Central Kohora Range in Kaziranga National Park by road. People gathered along the route to the guest house as Modi stood on the footboard of his vehicle and waved to them.

    Bihu and other folk songs and dances were performed along the route, which Modi appreciated with a post on X. “Landed to a very special welcome in Golaghat district, Assam. Got a glimpse of Assam’s diverse and beautiful culture,” the PM wrote, sharing photos of the performances.

    As Modi reached the guest house, where he will stay overnight, Sarma said it was an honour for the people of Assam to have the PM among them as a member of their own family.

     

    #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam today. pic.twitter.com/y24ZqO4jJt
    — ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024

    As Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji reaches Kaziranga National Park, #ModiParivarAssam comes out in large numbers to welcome their very own family member to the World Heritage Site,” Sarma wrote on X.

    In another post, the CM added, “The most popular leader of the world, elder of our family, respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji is heartily welcomed to Kaziranga.”

    After undertaking the safari, Modi will leave for Arunachal Pradesh, where he is scheduled to attend two programmes.

    He will return to Jorhat in the afternoon and inaugurate the 125-ft high ‘Statue of Valour’ of legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan. The prime minister will then proceed to Meleng Meteli Pothar, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation for central and state projects worth a total of around Rs 18,000 crore, the officials said.

    He is also scheduled to address a public meeting at the venue. After the meeting, he will leave for West Bengal. The prime minister had visited Assam on February 4 and launched infrastructure projects worth Rs 11,600 crore.

  • Kaziranga gets sculptures made of burnt rhino horns ash

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Kaziranga National Park in Assam has got a memorial made out of the ash of burnt rhino horns.

    Named “Abode of the Unicorns”, it has three rhino sculptures – an adult male, an adult female and a calf. It also has three statues of forest guards, created by using different materials.

    The male rhino is 10.5 feet long and 6 feet tall, the female is 11 feet long and 5.6 feet tall while the calf is 3.5 feet long and 1.5 feet tall.

    On the World Rhino Day last year, a stockpile of 2,479 rhino horns was consigned to flames, remotely using drones at the World Heritage Site. They were seized/collected over the past four decades.

    According to park authorities, 128.56 kg of ash was used in the making of the memorial. Sculptors Biju Das crafted the three rhinos while Biren Singha created the statues of the forest guards.

    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma unveiled the memorial in the presence of Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev on Saturday. Later, Sadguru briefly drove a gypsy in the park to have a glimpse of the real rhinos. Sarma gave him company sitting next to him.

    Kaziranga Field Director Jatindra Sarma told this newspaper the memorial came alive after four months of hard work. He said an estimated Rs 10-12 lakh went in its making and some work was still left.

    “When the horns were burnt last year, the CM sir and the Chief Wildlife Warden (MK Yadava) had discussed how the ash could be used since it is not something that can be preserved,” Sarma said.

    He said the ash collected was used to create the three rhinos, thereby immortalising the efforts of those who selflessly protect the animal.

    “Through this memorial, a message was also sent to the international community that rhino horns were burnt in Assam. The horns have no medicinal value. As such, there shouldn’t be any poaching. Let them live freely,” Sarma said.

    The memorial has been kept in the open and the park director said the idea was to ensure the tourists get a clear view of it.

    Rhino-poaching has come down drastically in Assam after the BJP rose to power in 2016. The party had promised to protect the animal.

    GUWAHATI: The Kaziranga National Park in Assam has got a memorial made out of the ash of burnt rhino horns.

    Named “Abode of the Unicorns”, it has three rhino sculptures – an adult male, an adult female and a calf. It also has three statues of forest guards, created by using different materials.

    The male rhino is 10.5 feet long and 6 feet tall, the female is 11 feet long and 5.6 feet tall while the calf is 3.5 feet long and 1.5 feet tall.

    On the World Rhino Day last year, a stockpile of 2,479 rhino horns was consigned to flames, remotely using drones at the World Heritage Site. They were seized/collected over the past four decades.

    According to park authorities, 128.56 kg of ash was used in the making of the memorial. Sculptors Biju Das crafted the three rhinos while Biren Singha created the statues of the forest guards.

    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma unveiled the memorial in the presence of Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev on Saturday. Later, Sadguru briefly drove a gypsy in the park to have a glimpse of the real rhinos. Sarma gave him company sitting next to him.

    Kaziranga Field Director Jatindra Sarma told this newspaper the memorial came alive after four months of hard work. He said an estimated Rs 10-12 lakh went in its making and some work was still left.

    “When the horns were burnt last year, the CM sir and the Chief Wildlife Warden (MK Yadava) had discussed how the ash could be used since it is not something that can be preserved,” Sarma said.

    He said the ash collected was used to create the three rhinos, thereby immortalising the efforts of those who selflessly protect the animal.

    “Through this memorial, a message was also sent to the international community that rhino horns were burnt in Assam. The horns have no medicinal value. As such, there shouldn’t be any poaching. Let them live freely,” Sarma said.

    The memorial has been kept in the open and the park director said the idea was to ensure the tourists get a clear view of it.

    Rhino-poaching has come down drastically in Assam after the BJP rose to power in 2016. The party had promised to protect the animal.

  • Vehicle speed limit restricted to 40-km per hour in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The Kaziranga National Park authorities have fixed a maximum speed limit of 40 km per hour for vehicles in the sanctuary with an objective to avoid wildlife deaths due to accidents and allow free movement of animals, an official said on Thursday.

    Six sensor-based cameras have been installed in nine designated animal corridors of the park, stretching from Rengali to Borjuri, in Assam to detect the speed of vehicles, he said.

    The cameras have been installed along the National Highway 37 that passes along the southern boundaries of the Kaziranga National Park, the home of the famous one-horned rhinos, and these will become operational from Friday, Eastern Assam Wildlife Division’s DFO Ramesh Gogoi said.

    The cameras are equipped with automatic number plate recognising with radar for the determination of speed, the divisional forest officer said. The authorities used to regulate vehicle speed limit during floods in Assam as animals come near the NH 37 in search of dry land with many crossing the road to reach highlands.

    Speeding vehicles on the highway have claimed the lives of several animals, particularly when the park is flooded and the animals cross the the road to reach the highlands. As per the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), owners of vehicles plying above the 40-km per hour speed limit will be penalised. “Overspeeding vehicles in the stretch will also be booked for violation of a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” the official said.

    Each vehicle, which is booked, particularly for overspeeding and killing or injuring animals, would be fined an environmental compensation of Rs 5,000 per incident, over and above the amount to be paid for an offence under the Motor Vehicles Act.

    “Under these circumstances, all commuters are mandated to abide by the maximum speed limit of 40 km per hour in all animal corridors of Kaziranga National Park in the interest of safety of wild animals,” Gogoi added.

  • Assam awaits Centre’s clearance for 35-km long elevated road via Kaziranga National Park

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Assam government is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for a 35-km long elevated road project through the Kaziranga National Park.The Rs 6,000-crore road will run over nine animal corridors and an existing national highway. The basic idea behind the project is to ensure the safety of the animals.“We submitted a report on the road alignment to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways last week. We are hoping to get the clearance in the next 10-15 days,” an official source told this newspaper on Sunday.Earlier, the state government had submitted an alignment report for a two-lane but the ministry suggested a 4-lane project given the increase in road traffic and looking at the future.Once the state government gets the clearance, it will have to prepare the detailed project report and submit it to the ministry. Subsequently, the government will be required to obtain clearance from the statutory bodies including the National Board for Wildlife.“We fixed the alignment in coordination with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). We consider it as a Kaziranga project, not a highway project,” the source said.“We took pains in doing the designing to the extent possible without causing any harm to wildlife and human settlements. We are hopeful that there won’t be any hurdles in getting necessary clearance,” the source added.The project, which entails two tunnels with estimated length of 1.5 to 1.6 km and 500 to 600 metres, got momentum under the Himanta Biswa Sarma government.Kaziranga National Park field director P Sivakumar said he had insisted on the removal of structures and human settlements from the nine corridors. Investment is not for road transport but for the smooth passage of animals from Kaziranga to Karbi Anglong and vice versa, he said.“The project will not benefit Kaziranga if the settlements and encroachment are not cleared. The areas have to be converted into parts of Kaziranga. People settled on or near the corridors have to be compensated and relocated,” Sivakumar said.He added that the existing road should act as a highland during monsoon floods.The Kaziranga animals flee to the nearby Karbi Anglong hills during the annual deluge. In the process, a lot of them, mostly deer, get killed after coming under the wheels of vehicles.

  • COVID: National parks in Assam to reopen for tourists on October 1

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The Orang National Park in Assam will reopen for tourists on Thursday and the parks in Kaziranga and Manas will reopen on October 1, officials said on Wednesday.

    The national parks in Assam were shut to visitors for several months due to COVID-19 pandemic and the monsoon season, they said.

    This year the parks were shut before the normal schedule because of the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19.

    The Kaziranga National Park (KNP), known the world over for its one horn rhino, will initially be opened partially with access to only three ranges from October 1, an official release said.

    Tourists, who flock to the largest national park in the north east from the country and abroad, will be allowed to have only jeep safari for the time being but not the much sought after elephant ride, it said.

    The famous Orang National Park (ONP) will reopen from Thursday from September 30 for the tourist season of 2021-22, ONP divisional forest officer Pradipta Baruah said in a notice.

    All COVID-19 protocol and safety guidelines will be followed for the visitors, he added.

    Baruah also informed that only a portion of the safari route inside the park will be opened to tourists at present due to poor condition of roads owing to recent floods.

    “Remaining part of the tourist route will be opened only after repairing of the roads and will be notified in due course,” he added.

    Manas National Park ranger Babul Brahma told PTI that the park will open its gates to visitors from October 1 with strict adherence of COVID-19 protocols.

    On September 1 the Assam cabinet had decided to drop the name of former prime minister from Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and revert to the old name of Orang National Park.

    The state on Wednesday reported 366 COVID-19 cases, 24 less than the previous day, and seven more deaths, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said.

    The coronavirus tally in the state is 6,01,787 and currently, there are 3,140 active cases.

    Of the new COVID-19 cases, 108 were detected in Kamrup Metropolitan, 32 in Barpeta, 31 in Jorhat, and 27 in Golaghat, the bulletin said.

    Three fresh fatalities were reported from Sonitpur and one each in Baksa, Dhemaji, Nagaon, and Udalguri districts, taking the toll to 5,868.

    NHM said 1,347 more COVID-19 patients have died till now, but the government’s Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by COVID-19 as they had other ailments too.

    The northeastern state had on Tuesday recorded ten COVID deaths.

    The positivity rate was 0.72 per cent, with 50,692 tests conducted during the day.

    The state had reported 390 coronavirus positive cases on Tuesday against the testing of 56,236 samples.

    Over 2.35 crore samples have been tested for coronavirus in the state thus far.

    As many as 507 people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 5,91,432.

    The NHM bulletin said more than 2.39 crore doses of vaccines have been administered to date.

    It said 1,10,853 people were vaccinated on Wednesday, down from 1,78,999 on Tuesday.

  • Assam government to destroy around 2479 rhino horns kept in state treasuries

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The Assam council of ministers on Thursday decided to destroy 2,479 rhino horns, stockpiled in the treasuries of different districts of the state, by burning them in public to bust myths associated with it and prevent poaching of the animal.

    The meeting of the ministers, which was chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also gave its nod for a natural history museum at Kaziranga National Park where 94 rhino horns, extracted from those animals that had died due to natural reasons, will be kept and preserved as heritage pieces for academic purposes and public viewing.

    State Health Minister Keshab Mahanta told the media after the meeting that out of the total 2,623 rhino horns kept in the treasuries, 2479 of them will be destroyed. Another 50 rhino horns with court litigations will be preserved with due procedures.

    In another major decision which will benefit people from low income groups, the Assam council of ministers decided to waive off the license fee for rickshaws, handcarts and others in the capital city and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation was directed to explore feasibility of providing these licenses online without the applicants coming to the office, Mahanta said.

    The cabinet granted the long-standing demand of the tea tribe community for a state holiday on Karam Puja on September 17 this year.

    Asked if the holiday will be only for this year, Mahanta said that though the decision was so, the matter will come up for discussion when the annual holiday list will be prepared by the government later this year.

    The ministers also decided to start offline classes for 10th standard students in both government and private schools, including high madrasas, residential and day boarding schools from September 20 and school authorities will ensure that all employees and workers are fully vaccinated, Mahanta said Every class will have a maximum of 30 students and all COVID protocols will be strictly followed, he said adding necessary directives will be issued soon in this regard.

    It was agreed to sanction Rs 379 crore for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana towards payment of insurance premium on behalf of the farmers.

    The state government will pay 3.5 per cent share of the premium, which will include the state share of 1.5 per cent and two per cent share of the beneficiary. “This will benefit lakhs of farmers,” the health minister said.

    The ministers decided to develop the infrastructure of 12 farms under the Assam Seeds Corporation Limited and develop the horticulture nursery and the Ulubari Nursery under it here as state-of-the-art facilities.

    They agreed to relax the qualifying service to a minimum of one year for upward promotion from deputy director and joint director’s posts in the agriculture department to strengthen and help in its effective functioning.

    The other decisions taken were releasing Rs 98 crore to the Water Resource Department for its activities under Section 27 of the NABARD Act, 1981 (contributing to the share capital of the cooperative credit institutions) and sanctioning Rs 250 crore to Assam Infrastructure Funding Agency (AIFA) for taking up infrastructural development related projects.

    The Assam ministers agreed to create a separate post of chief engineer for health and education in the public works department (building) to expedite all health and educational infrastructure projects undertaken by PWD in the state, Mahanta added.

  • Assam flood situation improves marginally; 4.93 lakh affected

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The flood situation in Assam improved marginally as the number of people affected by the deluge came down by nearly 1.55 lakh, though two more children died on Thursday, a bulletin said.

    The number of people reeling under the natural calamity now is about 4.93 lakh while it was 6.48 lakh on Wednesday, it said.

    According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one child each drowned in Chamaria of Kamrup and Mayong of Morigaon, taking the toll in the floods to five.

    Two more persons have drowned, but the ASDMA said these were cases of “general drowning” and did not include them in the flood toll.

    At present, 1,230 villages are submerged and 39,606.03 hectares of crop area have been damaged, the bulletin said.

    ASDMA said more than 4,92,800 people are affected due to floods in 18 districts — Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, and Sonitpur districts.

    The bulletin said Nalbari is the worst-hit district affecting nearly 1.11 lakh people, followed by Golaghat ( 91,500) and Darrang (84,100).

    Till Wednesday, 17 districts were affected by the deluge.

    It further said authorities are running 105 relief camps and distribution centres in 12 districts, where 4,169 people, including 935 children, are taking shelter.

    The bulletin said that various relief agencies have evacuated 911 persons from several flood-hit parts of the state.

    Massive erosions have been witnessed in Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Morigaon, Sonitpur, and Udalguri districts, the bulletin said.

    Roads, bridges, and other infrastructure have been damaged by floodwaters in Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Darrang, Barpeta, Jorhat, and Morigaon, ASDMA said.

    A total of 5,42,667 domestic animals and poultry have been affected by the deluge across 19 districts, it added.

    Meanwhile, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve authorities said 70 per cent area of the forest is still under water.

    As many as 110 of the 223 anti-poaching camps are inundated.

    Due to flood-related incidents, nine hog deer, two swamp deers and one each of capped langur and python have died so far, while three animals have been rescued till now.

    According to the daily flood situation report issued by the Central Water Commission, the Brahmaputra is flowing in “above normal to severe flood situations” in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Goalpara, Kamrup, and Dhubri districts due to rainfall in the past one week.

    Also, tributaries of the Brahmaputra, namely Beki in Barpeta, Jia Bharali in Sonitpur districts are flowing in above normal to severe flood situations but showing a receding trend.

    An alert has been sounded for Kokrajhar and Biswanath districts.

  • Nearly 5.74 lakh affected in Assam floods, Modi calls up CM Himanta

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Nearly 5.74 lakh people in 22 of Assam’s 34 districts are affected by the first wave of the floods which were triggered by incessant rains.

    The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said one more person – a child – died on Tuesday which took the death toll to three. Several rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were in a spate, flowing above the danger level.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and took stock of the situation.

    Spoke to Assam CM Shri @himantabiswa and took stock of the flood situation in parts of the state. Assured all possible support from the Centre to help mitigate the situation. I pray for the safety and well-being of those living in the affected areas.
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2021
    “Spoke to Assam CM Shri @himantabiswa and took stock of the flood situation in parts of the state. Assured all possible support from the Centre to help mitigate the situation. I pray for the safety and well-being of those living in the affected areas,” the PM tweeted.

    Sarma expressed his gratitude to Modi for standing up with the people of Assam at this hour of crisis.

    According to ASDMA, 1,278 villages in 61 revenue circles have been affected. The 5,73,938 affected people include 1,91,821 women and 1,44,582 children.

    The authorities set up 105 relief camps where 4,009 of the marooned were taking shelter. Cropland affected was in areas of over 39,831 hectares. Roads and infrastructure were damaged in several districts.

    The rising water of the Brahmaputra inundated over 70% of the Kaziranga National Park. So far, nine animals – two swamp deer and seven hog deer – died. Some of them died in vehicle hits on a national highway that traverses the World Heritage Site, famed for one-horned rhinos.

    The rescued rhino calf

    A 10-day old rhino calf was rescued by the forest guards from the park on Tuesday. The mother could not be traced. The weak and debilitated calf was sent to the nearby Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation for stabilization and rehabilitation.

    “Vast tracts of the park have been hit by the deluge and the park authorities are keeping a close watch on the movement of animals that cross over the national highway and face the risk of being run over,” Sabir Nishat, PRO to the forest minister, told The New Indian Express.

  • 2 children die, 70% of Kaziranga inundated in Assam floods

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Two children died while over 3.63 lakh others in 21 of Assam’s 34 districts have been affected in the first wave of the floods which also inundated over 70% of the one-horned rhino fame Kaziranga National Park.

    The deaths occurred in the Barpeta district of lower Assam and Morigaon district of central Assam.

    The other affected districts were Biswanath, Cachar, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong West, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara, and Tinsukia.

    Altogether 950 villages under 50 revenue circles are in the grip of the deluge, triggered by incessant rains. The marooned include 1,24,776 females and 70,544 children. The authorities set up 16 relief camps in 10 districts where 1,619 people were lodged.

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    The floods affected cropland in over 30,333 hectares of land and damaged roads and infrastructure in some districts. Several rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were in a spate, flowing above the danger level.

    As the water kept rising at Kaziranga, the animals, particularly elephants and deer, started migrating to the Karbi Anglong hills on the park’s southern fringe. The park authorities said as of now, there was no crisis of food for the animals.

    “The water level is gradually increasing. More than 70% of the park and 125 of the 223 camps have been inundated,” the park’s Director P Sivakumar told The New Indian Express.

    The poachers usually get active during floods and Sivakumar said the forest guards were maintaining vigil round-the-clock.

    “There are vested interest groups. Taking advantage of the situation, they make attempts to hunt the distressed animals, particularly deer, for their meat,” the forest officer said.

    So far, four hog deer died – three of them in vehicle hits. A national highway traverses the park and the authorities restricted the speed limit of vehicles.

    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed that till there is a significant decrease in the flood situation, all heavy vehicles will ply through the north bank of the Brahmaputra.

    Official sources said the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati was also partially submerged.

  • Kaziranga guards gun down Royal Bengal Tiger in ‘self-defence’

    Kaziranga Field Director, P Sivakumar said since the tiger was old, it possibly could not hunt in the wild and strayed out looking for livestock. 
    Published: 18th June 2021 01:03 PM  |  

    Last Updated: 18th June 2021 01:03 PM

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