GUWAHATI, Aug 23 ? The State Forest department has prepared a Rs 16-crore scheme for immediate restoration and reconstruction of the infrastructure inside the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries damaged in the last wave of floods. The Minister of State for Forest, Pradyut Bordoloi, said that the scheme has been submitted to the Central team, which visited the State for assessing the damages caused by floods. He also expressed the hope that the State Government, on its own, would be able to release some funds for immediate restoration of the infrastructure inside the national parks and sanctuaries.
The Minister pointed out that the floods caused extensive damage to the infrastructure inside the national parks and sanctuaries this year. In the Kaziranga National park alone, at least 30 wooden bridges were either washed away or extensively damaged. He said that the patrolling paths inside the park were also damaged and the camps of the Forest personnel were either washed away or damaged. He said that approximately 26 square kilometres of the area of the Park was eroded this year, while, the weakening of the embankment at Dhansirimukh also posed a threat to the existence of the Park.
Bordoloi said that the with its limited funds, the Forest Department has started the process of restoration of the infrastructure and in the first phase, the process of de-siltation of the water bodies has been started. He pointed out that restoration of the water bodies is a must for the survival of the animals in the park including the rhinos , buffalos etc and if the process of de-siltation cannot be completed immediately, the Park may face serious shortage of water in the winter season. He also admitted that the Forest Department alone cannot solve the problem of erosion and all concerned departments must play a role in this regard in the interest of protection of the Park.
The Minister said that the damage caused to the patrolling paths created problems for the Park authorities as the movement of the Forest personnel has been restricted to a great extent. He revealed that taking advantage of the situation, the poachers are on the prowl and three rhinos were killed by poachers after the floods.
Bordoloi said that apart from Kaziranga, the floods caused extensive damage to the other national parks and sanctuaries including Orang, Pabitora, Dibru-Saikhowa etc and immediate steps need to be taken for restoring the infrastructure to reopen the same for the tourists in the winter season.