Kaziranga jeep safari operators face Minister's wrath after recent lapses

Kaziranga, Jan 9: Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary has expressed serious concern over the frequent lapses on part of jeep safari operators inside the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

It may be recalled that there was a serious accident recently where tourists coming from outside the State were injured as the Gypsy driver, who was in an inebriated state, lost control and fell from the designated road inside Kaziranga central range.

In another serious incident, a mother and her child suddenly fell from a moving Gypsy amid two rhinos inside the western range of Bagori on January 3 when the driver of the vehicle took a sharp turn at a high speed. Somehow, both the mother and her child could be saved without any harm from the rhinos.

The child was said to have sustained a minor injury after it fell from the Gypsy along with the mother. Sensation still prevails in Kaziranga over the twin incidents.

Minister Patowary asked the members of the Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association, who went to meet him at Kohora central range office, to maintain discipline while taking any tourists inside Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and warned them to follow all the rules and regulations as framed by Transport Department and Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve authority properly. He asked them to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

While addressing the media, Patowary said that the Kaziranga National Park authority had been properly doing its duty, but the members of the Jeep Safari Association must maintain discipline and should not take alcohol while taking tourists inside the Kaziranga forest.

Patowary instructed the director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, Dr Sonali Ghosh, to suspend any offending Gypsys for the rest of the season if any such incident happens again and initiate proper action against them.

Patowary regretted as to the type of impression those tourists must have taken while returning to their home State after facing such incidents caused by serious lapses of the jeep safari operators inside Kaziranga forest recently.

Earlier, a newly built range office was inaugurated by forest minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and agriculture minister Atul Bora in the presence of 'elephant queen' Parvati Baruah and forest expert Bhupen Talukdar at the Kohora (Ka- ziranga) Central range on Monday.

By Correspondent