From pankajs@VSNL.COM Sat Aug 21 13:54:30 2004
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 16:43:38 +0530
From: Pankaj Sekhsaria 
To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU
Subject: 3 NEW Wildlife sanctuaries in Assam


    [ Part 1, Text/PLAIN (charset: ISO-8859-1 "Latin 1")  84 lines. ]
    [ Unable to print this part. ]

    [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ]
    [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set.  ]
    [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ]

The Assam Tribune
Guwahati, Thursday, June 24, 2004
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 new wildlife sanctuaries notified in State
By A Staff Reporter
 GUWAHATI, June 23 – In a move widely expected to accelerate the
pace of conservation in the State, the State Government has notified
three new wildlife sanctuaries (WLSs) – Amchang WLS, Dihing-Patkai
WLS and Barail WLS – covering a total area of 516 sq km, and
bringing the number of protected areas (including National Parks) in the
State to 23. This is in addition to the two proposed sanctuaries, Deepar
Beel and Bardoibam Beelmukh.
 
 Of particular significance is the Dihing-Patkai as it has been formed
out of the famed rain forests of Upper Dihing, Dirak and Joypur reserve
forests (RFs) along the Arunachal border in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia
districts. The present notified area of the sanctuary is 111 sq km but
that may be increased in the near future. Announcing this before the
media today, State Forest Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said the notification
of the new sanctuaries is a testimony to the Forest Department’s
commitment to and concern for wildlife protection. “The three new
sanctuaries would impose an additional overhead burden of 30 per cent
each on the department but we are determined to carry forward the
conservation process,” he asserted. The upgradation of the reserve
forests (RFs) to sanctuaries has fulfilled a long-standing demand of   
nature-lovers and NGOs. Amchang, situated just on the city outskirts, has
an area of 79 sq km covering the three reserve forests of Amchang, South
Amchang and Khanapara. Barail WLS, on the other hand, falls in the Barak
Valley districts of NC Hills and Cachar, and is the biggest of the three
sanctuaries having an area of 326 sq km.
 
 The Minister said that a major part of the required manpower for the new
protected areas would be met from the excess staff in the Territorial and
Social Forestry divisions of the department. “The need of the hour
is to have more young frontline guards and we are considering various
prospects of procuring it,” he added. There has been no recruitment
of frontline guards since 1992 and at the moment the vacancy stands at
750. On the clamour for creation of more and more sanctuaries by the
NGOs, Bordoloi said it was easier said than done because “notifying
an area as a sanctuary is simple but maintaining it as a true protected
area is a rather difficult proposition for a resource-starved Forest
Department.”
 
 Amchang WLS, only a few kms to the east of the city, is home to a wide
range of flora and fauna. Besides, its proximity to the city is also
expected to attract large numbers of tourists. Early Birds, which has
been persistently demanding its upgradation to a WLS, has hailed the
Government declaration today. “Amchang is very rich in biodiversity
and this move will definitely go a long way in enhancing the prospects of
wildlife conservation in the State,” Moloy Baruah, Early Birds
president said.
 
 The Dihing-Patkai WLS too has been another persistent demand from
conservationists largely because of its vast tracts of pristine rain
forests. Its claim to fame also rests on it being a major refuge for the
hollock gibbon, the country’s only ape. Similarly, Barail WLS,
another prosperous wildlife habitat spreads over stretches of jungles
teeming with diverse flora and fauna.
 
 As of now, the total area of protected forests in the State is 3,925 sq
km. Of these, 1,978 sq km fall under the five national parks. The rest
1,947 sq km are under wildlife sanctuaries, including the two proposed
ones. The area under the sanctuaries, again, constitutes 20 per cent of
reserve forest areas and five per cent of the total land area of the
State. Bordoloi further revealed that the area of the three sanctuaries
could be increased if the Wildlife Institute of India, currently
conducting a baseline survey on these forests, makes a suggestion to that
effect. He also said that the process of declaring the Deepor Beel as a
bird sanctuary was on and it was to be finalised soon.
 
 On the unfortunate train accident killing three elephants on Sunday, the
Minister said the Forest Department and the Railways are evolving out a
mechanism to prevent its recurrence. He said the train drivers are being
imparted “sensitisation” lessons in this regard. It may be
mentioned that the State Government had last year notified two
sanctuaries – Marat-Longri WLS and Nambar-Doigrung WLS. Five
elephant reserves (ERs) – Sonitpur ER, Chirang-Ripu ER,
Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong ER, Dihing-Patkai ER and Dhansiri Lungding ER
– were also created during the same time.