Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
A long term conservation plan should bring Karbi Hills under Kaziranga and stop the construction of hotels and resorts between KNP and Karbi Hills
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve Forest, declared as the iconic tourist destination in 2018, attracted 3,27,493 tourists in the last fiscal. Among them, 3,13,574 are domestic tourists, and the rest 13,919 foreigners. The park consists of three administrative divisions – Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, Bishwanath Wildlife Division and Nagaon Wildlife Division. With a total area of ​​1302.97 square kilometers, the park is home to over 2600 one-horned rhinos and is the largest habitat for the endangered species.
But the park also faces some setbacks as in the last eight years, 85 rhinos died in KNPTR during floods and 24 died in 2017 alone. This year about 13 rhinos died due to floods and poaching. Similarly, other animals are also affected by floods, human-animal conflict and development. The protection of the world heritage site is very vital to the country, but ironically there is no “proper plan” to preserve the park and forest reserve.
A senior forest department official who spoke to GPlus on condition of anonymity said: “There is no proper plan to preserve Kaziranga National Park as everything is temporary,” adding that there are management plans but there are also many limitations.
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Another forest official said some areas get mass tourism, while others are neglected. “From Buraphar to Bokhahat in Assam’s Eastern Wildlife Division, most of the activities are concentrated in the Baguri and Kohara ranges while places like Buraphar are richer but less visited,” the official said. The official said there are around 100 hotels and resorts in Kaziranga and all of them are in the Baguri and Kora ranges. “It is better to spread tourism to less touristed areas like the North Bank and Nagaon,” said the official.
The official said that it is also required to work on a plan to keep the tourists for a longer period of time, so that if new hotels are planned outside Kaziranga like Jakhalabandha or Bokakhat, many activities can be planned in the hotels like sound and light show. soon. This will keep the tourists away without disturbing the wildlife.
Assam National Environmental Organizations Forum founder Moloy Baruah speaking to GPlus said, “There is no plan to conserve Kaziranga National Park,” adding that there are many things the government can do to preserve the world heritage site. He explained that in the Eastern Wildlife Division of Assam when people travel from Jakalabanda towards Bukhata, (around 66 kilometers) on the left is the Kaziranga National Park, which is a riverine area because it is adjacent to the Brahmaputra River.
“The area of ​​the park there is lowland and hence animals are harmed during monsoon due to floods,” adding that the animals during floods or whenever they want, cross the road and move towards where there are some private lands and finally the hills of Karbi Anglong which is a forest.
Barua said Karbi Hills may be an area under the Sixth Plan, but if the government wants it can be acquired and made part of the Kaziranga National Park. According to him, there are nine animal corridors between KNP and Givat Karbi, but during floods, the passage of animals is not limited only to the corridors but they can cross anywhere along the section.
Bruh said that the hotels and resorts are mushroomson the right side of the roadTowards Karbi Hills affecting traffic. “The Karbi Hills should be made part of Kaziranga Park and the hotels and resorts between them should be moved,” Baruch said, adding that there are legal cases and orders to preserve Kaziranga Park that are not carried out.
Reports prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in 2011 and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in 2018 pointed to the incessant mining in the Karbi Anglong Hills adjacent to NH-37, which has led to a drastic reduction in forest cover. , forcing wild animals into human settlements.
Both of these reports recommended that mining be banned in the Karby Anglung Hills. An environmental activist filed a complaint on March 16, 2018 with the Centrally Competent Commission (CEC), which is a Supreme Court-appointed commission set up as part of a forest case in southern India.
The complaint prompted a visit by CEC members to the affected mining sites. The CEC report in 2019 highlighted the prevalence of illegal mining in the Karbi Anglong Hills. Based on the findings of the CEC report, the Supreme Court passed an order in April 2019 directing that all kinds of mining and related activities along the Kaziranga National Park area “L and throughout the catchment area of ​​rivers/streams and rivers that originate in the Karbi Anglong hill ranges. Flows into Kazirangato be arrested
The national park is spread over two districts of Assam-Golghat and Nagaon. Most of the park lies on the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River, which forms the northern boundary, with the Karbi Anglung Hills to the south. Diplo River is a tributary of the Brahmaputra. The Karbi Anglung hills serve as the cropping area for both the Kaziranga wetlands and Diplo and Brahmaputra. The Karbi Anglong Hills along with the wetlands of KNP are integral to the survival of wildlife in this landscape. Seasonal flooding causes many animals to disperse out of the park, which is an active floodplain, towards the highlands located in and around the Karbi Anglong Hills.
The KNP is surrounded by several notified forests such as Panbari Reserve Forest and Dauphar Reserve Forest in Golghat District, Kokorakata Hill Reserve Forest, Begasar Reserve Forest, Kamakhia Hill Reserve Forest and Dausur Hill Reserve Forest (proposed) in Nagaon District, Bhamuraguri Reserve Forest in Sonitpur District Wildlife Forest and North Karbi Anglong in Karbi Anglong district. Thus, maintenance of functional connectivity between KNP and the surrounding forests, especially Karbi Anglong Hills, is imperative to maintain the integrity of the park and ensure the survival of the park’s unique wildlife that has evolved with this landscape.
“During floods if the Karbi Hills are not animal friendly and the spaces between the Karbi Hills and Kaziranga National Park are not clear, then the animals will not be safe“said a forest official working in Kaziranga National Park.
Molloy in spirit proposed to make Karbi Hills a part of the KNP and if the government wants it is possible.
In order to control hunting, many measures have been taken by the park authorities, including the maintenance of existing hunting camps and the construction of new hunting camps, adequate manpower, provision of mobility, patrolling, intelligence gathering, firearms and control of the use of firearms throughout the park. The park has around 122 anti-poaching camps scattered throughout the park, including two floating camps on the Brahmaputra River.
A forest official said that the similar initiative should be taken in the Karbi Hills, which remain unmonitored.
The official said that for the long term conservation plan of Kaziranga, Karbi Hills should be brought under Kaziranga and the construction of hotels and resorts between KNP and Karbi Hills should be stopped.
An official at the Ministry of Tourism said that the government is planning to build an elevated corridor above the animal corridors and apart from that there is no other such plan as of now.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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