GUWAHATI, May 13 - Senior Forest Department officials are of the opinion that stone mining activities can be shifted towards Nagaon away from the Kaziranga Watershed areas. They also called for a serious approach towards resolving the habitat issues of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) animals.
A meeting held by the Forest Department recently on the April 12, 2019 Supreme Court of India order, in connection with Writ Petition No 202/1995, banning stone mining activities in the Kaziranga National Park-Karbi Anglong landscape, suggested shifting of the stone mining activities and crushers in Dolomara in Karbi Anglong to Parkup Pahar or Kaliabor area and the crushers in Eastern Assam Wildlife Division to Dergaon area.
Addressing the meeting, presided over by Abhijit Rabha, Special Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, Director, Kaziranga National Park (KNP) asserted that additional area is required to the National Park because of the fact that its rhino population is increasing.
But the KNP Director said stone mining activities and the resultant acidic water inflow have been damaging the forest land. Because of habitat degradation, animals from the KNP use to come out of the National Park in search of better habitats. Since five out of the nine corridors are degraded and blocked by human intervention, the animals are finding it difficult in moving freely.
He maintained that KNP is a conservation area and cannot be treated as a zoo. Therefore, habitat issues are to be taken seriously since it is much more dangerous than the existing poaching issues.
The KNP Director reminded the participants of the meeting that the Apex Court has ordered that there can not be any construction on any of the nine animal corridors used by the National Park animals. He requested the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of Nagaon, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong to issue orders in line with the Apex Court order.
Director, KNP also suggested diversion of heavy commercial vehicles of the NH-37 to the North Bank via Bhomoraguri Bridge and Bogibeel Bridge over the Brahmaputra. The other participants of the meeting agreed to the suggestion. The KNP Director also suggested that like some of the Tiger Reserves located in South India, the movement of heavy traffic along the KNP can be restricted in the night hours.
The other participants of the meeting agreed to these suggestions with the opinion that these suggestions should be taken up with the competent authorities for their approval and subsequent implementation.
Rohini B Saikia, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, underlined the need to notify the area between Bokakhat and Jakhalabandha as no parking zone during the flood season and also to deploy 30 additional police personnel from each of the districts in the KNP area during the flood season to manage man-animal conflict and law and order situation.
Dilip Kumar De, DIG, Central Range suggested constitution of a joint team of Police and Forest Departments� officials and staff to execute the closure of transportation of the excavated materials from the stone mines and also for flood monitoring in and around the KNP.
