Fly over for Khaziranga Rhinos

Kaziranga Forest officials feel that fly-over or the tunnel would definitely provide safety to the animals in the park. 

FOR the safety of one-horn rhinos and other endangered animals at the famous Kaziranga National Park (KNP), the Assam Government has submitted a special project to the Centre for construction of either a fly-over or an underground tunnel inside the Park, according to Minister of State for Forests Pradyut Bordoloi. National Highway 37 passes through the KNP corridor used by the animals to move to the highlands, especially during the rainy season or flood. Besides the world famous one-horn rhinos – some 1,300 in all, KNP is home to 3,000 elephants, hundreds of wild buffaloes, deer, pythons and several birds. Almost every year, KNP, specially its low lying areas, gets flooded whenever water level in the mighty Brahmaputra, which flows along the Park, rises. The animals take shelter on the NH 37 or move up to the nearby Karbi Anglong district after crossing the highway.

In the process every year a number of animals are killed by the speeding vehicles on the highway, especially during the nights.. On an average 50 animals are run over on the highway during the flood each year, Bordoloi said. Recent floods have eroded about 22 sq km area of the park. In fact, high current during flood season is chipping away the park grounds every year. Kaziranga Forest officials feel that fly-over or the tunnel would definitely provide safety to the animals in the park.

Bordoloi met the Union Forest and Environment Minister T. R. Balu and requested early green signal Assam government has plans for modernisation of Forest Protection Force, afforestation drive, bio-diversity conservation, management action plan for the three national parks at Manas, Kaziranga and Deepor Beel which were likely to be sanctioned in phased manner. The plan is set up a genetic library at a cost of Rs. 9 crore. Bordoloi admitted that encroachment on forestland was continuing despite the presence of 680-men strong Assam Forest Protection Force. That is why we want  modernization of the force and proposed Rs 11-crore outlay, he said, adding that an extensive field survey was on to determine the exact forest area of Assam,.

Official  record put the forest area  around 20 to 25 per cent of the State’s total area Bordoloi said that the huge demand for the timber for furniture and construction purposes was the main reason behind deforestation in the state. To make it up, the department had submitted another Rs.28 crore scheme to the centre for afforestation works including plantation of fast growing trees , he said and added that the deforestation had resulted in flood and silting in the state. It had also caused the going down of the level of ground water in Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon areas. He informed that maximum deforestation in the state had occurred at Sonitpur district. The reserve forest in the district, during 1996 to 2001, had lost 20,000 hectares of plantations due to deforestation. Bordoloi said that in Assam, to meet the requirement of timber, plantation in about 18000 hectares was required while at present plantation was being done at 2000 to 3000 hectares. It is high time that Kaziranga National Park is cleared of encroachers.

“Over 1600 rhinos, 86 Royal Bengal Tigers, hundreds of elephants, buffaloes and deers besides many other species are just too much for the core park areas which has now been reduced by at least 20 square kilometre because of erosion by the Brahmaputra over the years,” says Assistant Conservator of Forest, L N Baruah. The situation demands that all the six additions –three of which are finalised while the rest are in proposal stage – to the national park be cleared of encroachers so that the animals can have an extended and peaceful habitat. The total area of these six additions combined is 429 square kilometres. Out of these, the sixth addition, which is spread from Dhansirimukh to Kaliabhomora covering the stretch of Brahmaputra river along the park, is of 376.5 sq km. The first addition is of 43.7 sq km, second addition 6.74 sq km, third addition 0.69 sq km, fourth addition 0.89 sq km, fifth addition is of 1.15 sq km.