Assam Govt to add more forest officials; to step up anti-poaching drive in Kaziranga National Park: CM

In the backdrop of Assam reporting year’s first case of rhino poaching and recovery of two rhino horns over the past few days, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the state government will step up its anti-poaching drive by increasing the strength of staff members, foresters and forest guards inside the park and add an additional outpost to ensure that no rhino is killed in the Kaziranga National Park.

He said that on May 10, the Assam government will appoint a number of Forest battalion and Foresters in the Forest Department.

It may be mentioned here that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday conducted a survey of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve following last month’s poaching incident of a rhino.

Chief Minister Sarma toured the Park and assessed various measures undertaken to eliminate poaching. The Chief Minister has called for increased river patrolling in some parts of the National Park.

CM Sarma took a jeep safari at the Kohora range of the Park and visited the vulnerable zones on the banks of the Brahmaputra river and interacted with the forest guards at the camps.

It may be mentioned here that a rhino horn was found on March 24 and another horn was seized on April 14. Both the horns were seized from Nagaon. A rhino carcass was found in March this year inside the Kaziranga National Park. Assam reported zero rhino deaths in 2022.

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