GUWAHATI, July 6 - Fulfilling a long-standing demand of nature lovers, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today instructed the forest department to take necessary steps for upgrading Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary to a national park.
The Chief Minister while holding a meet with forest department officials at Brahmaputra Guest House here directed the officials to prepare a draft notification and hold public hearing to take the views of local dwellers residing around the sanctuary.
Sonowal also instructed the forest officials to prepare an action plan for preserving the adjoining areas of the sanctuary.
The decision comes in the wake of a sustained campaign by The Assam Tribune that has done a series of news reports on the illegalities, including illegal mining, logging and poaching in the 111.19-sq km wildlife sanctuary and the much larger Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve.
Both these forests represent the only contiguous belt of tropical lowland rainforests in Assam that extend up to Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar. The forests harbour rich biodiversity comprising wide-ranging flora and fauna, including mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, besides a wealth of orchids and medicinal plants.