OUR CORRESPONDENT
MANGALDAI: Continuing its glorious journey since 1915 in conservation of the one-horned rhinos, Royal Bengal Tigers and other wild animals and making it a zero poaching protected area over the last seven years, Orang National Park and Tiger Reserve (ONPTR) on Sunday morning reopened its welcome gate for the visitors and the tourists in a small yet ceremonial function at the main entrance of the Park at Silbori.
In a significant initiative to honour the sincere service of the frontline staff of the Park, the Park authority on Sunday entrusted a senior frontline staff of the Park, grass cutter Taren Boro to assist CEO of Aaranyak, Bibhab Talukdar to ceremonially reopen the Park in presence of Divisional Forest Officer of Mangaldai Wildlife Division, Pradipta Barua, Range Officer of the Park, Dibya Jyoti Deuri, former honorary Wildlife Warden Bhargab Kumar Das, media persons Mayukh Goswami, Hemanta Kr Barua and Mukut Raj Sarma. Dalgaon legislator Majibor Rahman also attended the reopening function
With recent expansion of the area of ONPTR from the existing area of 78.82 sq km to 200.32 sq km, more riverine areas have been turned into forest areas to create a 180-km long animal corridor connecting ONPTR with Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary in the Sonitpur district and Kaziranga National Park. In the last census, a total of 128 one-horned rhinos were counted in the Park while the Royal Bengal Tiger population has been estimated at 28 through camera trapping. With the recent eviction of encroachers, a total area of 200.32 sq km under Dhekiajuli and Thelamara Revenue Circle in the Sonitpur district and under Dalgaon Revenue Circle in the Darrang district has been included as the second addition of Orang National Park and Tiger Reserve.
As per the declaration of the second addition of ONP, the eastern boundary has been extended up to the historic Gupteswar Temple at Singori in the Sonitpur district, the southern boundary touched the parts of Marigaon and Nagaon district and the western boundary of the Park extended upto Shyampur Police Station in the Darrang district while the northern boundary remained same. This expansion of the Park has been made as per section 35 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Besides the conservation of the one-horned rhinos and the Royal Bengal Tigers in ONPTR, the Park authority has made long-term objectives for the conservation of overall wildlife, breeding of critically endangered gharial, conservation of endangered river Dolphin, Pigmy Hog and Bengal Florican with the imposition restriction on fishing for the successful breeding of the indigenous fish varieties and 16 species of turtles.
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