Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday took to Twitter to condemn the incident at Haldibari where a freight truck mauled a rhino on a road.

CM Sarma informed that the rhino had survived the hit, while the vehicle has been intercepted and fined.

He wrote, “Rhinos are our special friends; we'll not allow any infringement on their space. In this unfortunate incident at Haldibari, the Rhino survived; vehicle intercepted and fined.”

“Meanwhile in our resolve to save animals at Kaziranga, we're working on a special 32-km elevated corridor,” he further wrote.

It may be noted that CM Sarma along with Sadhguru Vasudev opened the Kaziranga National Park for tourists this season on September 22.

Along with Vasudev, the Assam CM also unveiled three rhino statues at Mihimukh in Kaziranga on that day.

The statues were created from the ashes collected from burning rhino horns. Earlier, the Assam government had made history by putting to fire a stockpile of 2,479 rhino horns on September 22, last year, in a strong message to poachers and illegal horn traders that the horns have no medicinal value.

The statues will thus serve as an attempt to immortalize the efforts and dedication of those who selflessly protect Assam’s pride, the one-horned rhino.