JORHAT, Sept 4 - During the present wave of devastating floods, the wardens of Kaziranga National Park(KNP) have faced serious problems as reckless driving by a section of motorists has claimed the lives of 4 hog-deer and left one injured on National Highway-37 in the central and western range area of the park on Thursday.
Officials from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga said that the fully grown deer were mowed down on the highway while they were trying to cross the road, seeking a safer place for survival. The injured deer was subsequently released in the nearby Panbari Reserve Forest after it was nursed back to health by the rescue and rehabilitation team of CWRC.
�A large number of animals along with their young ones have been crossing the highway in recent times, seeking shelter on high land and the nearby Karbi Anglong hills. Though the drivers and commuters have been advised to limit the speed of their vehicles to 40 kms per hour inside the national park, only a few among them follow this order,� rued a wildlife official of Kaziranga National Park.
Despite strict vigil along the highway inside the national park, no errant driver nor vehicle could be traced by the police or the Forest Department officials concerned for the serious violation of traffic rules.
Expressing concern over the killing of animals inside the park, Forest Man of India, Padmashri Jadav Payeng said that law-violating vehicles should be immediately traced and the guilty persons punished under the legal provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act.
�Persons involved in the killing of these herbivores should be identified. To stop such incidents in the future, I would request the State Forest Minister to take necessary steps to trace out the culprits and impose exemplary punishment,� opined Payeng.
