The authorities at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam’s Golaghat district have reviewed and put in place a flood management plan to deal with the situation in case the park gets flooded.
The measures have been taken considering the rise in water levels in some of the major rivers in the State, including the Brahmaputra river, which have already flooded some districts of the State. The water levels of Brahmaputra river and some of its tributaries have crossed danger levels at some points in various parts of the State.
“Waters have entered the park in the past few days. However, the situation is far from being alarming at the moment. However, we are taking all precautionary measures,” Park director NK Vasu told The Pioneer on Sunday.
Vasu explained that the annual floods are very necessary for the park as it washes away all the unwanted weeds and helps maintain the park’s ecological balance. “The
annual floods are a natural process of cleaning the park. It is a matter of worry only when there is high flood in the park, when some animals of the park stray outside, searching for higher grounds,” Vasu said.
“The poachers also take advantage of the flood in the park. During the floods season, the animals, particularly the one-horned rhinos, stray outside the park. The rhinos and other wildlife normally go towards the Karbi Anglong Hills looking for higher grounds during high floods. It is very difficult to track those during those days and it becomes easier for the poachers to kill rhinos,” he said.
He said that the park had witnessed severe floods last year when over 600 animals have died including one-horned rhinos, elephants and other wildlife species.
Vasu said that all the anti-poaching camps inside the park have been repaired and the high lands inside the parks have also been repaired where the animals can take shelter during floods. A total of 1,200 staff, from DFO-level officials to armed guards of the elite Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF), have been guarding the park, which has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world.