'Rhinos are our special friends; we'll not allow any infringement on their space'
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: A video posted on his official Twitter handle on Sunday by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has brought renewed focus on the issue of human activity adversely impacting the lives and movement of wildlife.
The video shows a rhino colliding with the side of a 10-wheeler truck on the National Highway-37 at the Haldibari animal corridor under the Kohora Range of the Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve. The rhino rebounds from the truck and falls twice, but then gets up and staggers into the adjoining jungle.
Chief Minister Sarma tweeted in this context: "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 & fined. Meanwhile in our resolve to save animals at Kaziranga we're working on a special 32-km elevated corridor."
When contacted by The Sentinel, officials of the Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve said that the incident occurred at around 11:40 am on Saturday. Cameras set up by the national park authority revealed that the registration number of the truck involved in the incident was WB91-6749. The truck was travelling at 52 lm per hour although the maximum speed limited in the area is 40 km per hour. The truck was later detained with the help of the Kaliabor police. The driver was fined Rs 5,000 under National Green Tribunal guidelines and an additional fine of Rs 4,000 was imposed as per the State Government's rules regarding over-speeding in sensitive areas, the officials said.
It may be mentioned that the rhino injured in the accident was noticed near the National Highway on Sunday evening for the first time after it disappeared into the jungle yesterday.
Also Read: Stray rhino creates panic in Jamugurihat
Also Watch: