Kaziranga National Park extension plan gets state government nod

Guwahati: Assam government has announced addition of over 3,000 hectares (ha) to the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR). The state government in a preliminary notification has approved 7th , 8th and 9th additions to be included into the park.

The three new additions will make the park bigger by over 30 sq km. The notification stated that the seventh addition of 176 hectares which includes Deosur, Palkhowa and Deosur Hill PRF (Proposed Reserve Forest) in Nagaon district and 307 hectares of the eighth addition comprises Banderdubi in Nagaon district will connect the park with Karbi Anglong hills while the 9th addition in Biswanath Wildlife Division has an area of 2,570 hectares which includes Mokua chapori in Sonitpur district will stretch to the Nameri National Park in Sonitpur district.

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The issued notification specifying the extent of the additions has asked the respective deputy commissioners to probe into the extended areas of the park and decide the presence, the nature and degree of any right/claims affirmed to exist for any individual in or over any land inside the limit described in the schedule.

Park director P Sivakumar said the additions will ensure better corridor connectivity with two national parks namely Orang National Park and Nameri National Park and also with Karbi Anglong hills. He has hoped that it will brighten the scope for migrating animals and also help in reducing the fragmentation of habitats.

The additions will supposedly help to incorporate the encroachment-evicted areas and the suitable wildlife habitats at the riverine islands (sapori) which were easily exposed to encroachment. It is an initiative to unite the wildlife regions envisioning better wildlife preservation and decrease in the human-animal conflicts in future.

According to reports, the seventh and eighth additions of land have already been handed over to park authorities by the district magistrate (DM) of Nagaon. As regards, the ninth addition, the DM of Sonitpur had on August 3 requested the park authorities to start patrolling duty at the demarcated area.