Demanding strong actions to protect the wildlife in Manas National Park & Tiger Reserve, the local people have declared a series of protest demonstrations. They also urge the authorities to punish the guilty and inefficient forest officials who failed to perform their duties because of which many animals fell prey to poachers in last few months.
Assam celebrated 2022 as a zero-rhinoceros-poaching year which drew attention from the international media and global celebrities. But the running year has reported two incidents relating to the poaching of precious one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga NPTR and latest on in Manas, where the skeleton of a single horn rhino was recovered by employees of the forest reserve in western Assam.
Though came to the notice in June, the rhino was seemingly killed in May itself and its priced horn went missing. The incident sparked a series of protests by local environment and wildlife enthusiasts against the Manas authority for its failure in protecting the wildlife. Meanwhile, a group of youths shaved their heads publicly on 9 July to show solidarity to the cause of wildlife conservation.
Following the call of Greater Manas Conservation and Tourism Development Society, a cycle rally was organised on 26 July, which was later postponed following the police persuasion. However, the locals have decided to organise a massive rally on Saturday as Assam Governor GC Kataria plans to visit Manas on that day.
Bubul Nath, president of the society, asserted that in a few months a number of tiger, elephant, wild buffalo, deer and pygmy hogs were killed by the poachers. He apprehended that some forest officials might have involved with these killings. The society urged the State government and Bodoland territorial council authorities to keep the villagers at the fringe areas into confidence and reiterated the primary demand to protest the wildlife.
Manas, a UNESCO world heritage site, today gives shelter to around 45 rhinos with a host of other inmates. Another UNESCO recognised site Kaziranga reserve supports around 2,613 rhinos. Forest reserves namely the Pobitora WS (around 107 rhinos) and Orang NP (125) also support the rhino population to increase Assam’s count up to 2650 (against the global population of one-horned rhinos is around 4,000).
