Guwahati: The Assam Government has declared its intention to constitute a definite area of land as National Park in the name of 10th Addition to Kaziranga National Park, as per provision of section 35 of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
The additional area is the 10th addition to the park in the state’s Biswanath district.
Deputy Commissioner of Biswanath district has been appointed as Collector for the investigation and determination of claims, and extinguishment of rights in relation to the land within the described limits.
The government has informed the Public to submit in the prescribed Proforma, the claims of any right of any person in or over the land comprised within the limit of the 10th Addition to Kaziranga National Park, to the Divisional Forest Officer, Biswanath Wildlife Division cum Deputy Director, Biswanath Chariali within 2 (Two) months from the date of issue of the Proclamation.
The ‘Claim Form’ [Form No.VIII, Assam Wildlife (Protection) Rules, 1997] may be obtained free of cost from the Divisional Forest Officer, Biswanath Wildlife Division cum Deputy Director, Biswanath Chariali during office working hours. For a detailed boundary description, the public may contact the same office.
The northern boundary of the demarcated land runs from coordinates 260 45’21.70” N latitude & 930 17’7.29” E longitude in a north-west direction till it reaches coordinate 260 45’40.04” N latitude & 93016271.16” E longitude.
The eastern boundary starts from the southeast corner of Monabari afforestation center at the border of the 6th addition to KNP and runs along the boundary of Monabari Plantation in an eastward direction.
The southern boundary runs along the north bank of the Brahmaputra River following the northern boundary of the 6th addition to KNP.
On the other hand, the western boundary runs from NE coordinates towards a southwest direction, turning southeast and moving to southwest till it again meets the northern boundary the 6th addition to KNP.
It may be mentioned that Assam Government has issued this notification to protect the land where wildlife takes shelter during floods in which animals die almost every year.
Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage site, since 1985 and one of the major tourist attractions mainly due to its iconic one-one-horned rhino population (2,413 in 2018) is sandwiched between the river Brahmaputra and Karbi Anglong hills.
As the monsoon rain in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh hills raises the water level and inundates the park, animals are often seen rushing to Karbi Anglong hills to avoid floods.
While some animals drowned in the floodwaters inside the park, many die after being hit by vehicles while crossing the NH-37 to reach Karbi Anglong hills.