Assam floods: 44 killed, 17.2 lakh affected; Sarbananda Sonowal reviews situation in Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga: Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday visited the flood affected Kaziranga National Park in upper Assam and ordered setting up of a coordination committee for wild life protection. [caption id=“attachment_3805721” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of locals stranded in Assam floods. Reuters[/caption] Undertaking an extensive visit within 20 km radius of rhino habitat Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in its Bagori Range, Sonowal assessed the impact of the current wave of floods on the World Heritage Site and its flora and fauna. The chief minister directed to form a coordination committee involving Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents Police and Divisional Forest Officers of five districts with a mandate to maintain close vigil on the movement of animals and their probable threats from poachers during the floods. Taking stock of the prevailing flood situation and its resultant damage in KNP, Sonowal took a boat ride to oversee the extent of damage in Bagori Range, and said the Coordination Committee involving functionaries of five districts of Nagaon, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, Sonitpur and Biswanath will report to the Forest minister on a day to day basis on the flood situation and protection measures being adopted for the animals. He asked the Environment and Forest Department to provide fodder and medical attention to the animals taking shelter on high lands. While visiting the flood affected areas of Kaziranga, the chief minister interacted with the forest guards on duty. Later on holding a meeting at Bagori, Sonowal asked the civil and police administration to be innovative and find ways and means to provide protection to animals in Kaziranga and asked the forest guards to be on high alert to thwart any poaching attempts. He also asked the Veterinary and Forest department to fortify the highlands and plant saplings on them. Earlier, Sonowal visited two flood relief camps at Hatikhuli at Kohora in KNP and interacted with the inmates. Environment and Forest minister Pramila Rani Brahma, Water Resources minister Kesab Mahanta and Agriculture minister Atul Bora accompanied Sonowal during his visit.