* Sarma planted 11 rudraksh saplings on Gandhi Mandap premises
GUWAHATI: Diverse wildlife-rich Raimona in Kokrajhar district has been notified as to the state's sixth national park on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Saturday.
Attending the World Environment Day programme at Gandhi Mandap in Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the State government has decided to upgrade Raimona Sanctuary in BTR (Bodoland Territorial Region) to a national park.
Sarma said: "Work is also underway to give national park status to Dehing Patkai. The Science & Technology Department of the State government is being rechristened as the Department of Science, Technology and Climate Change, from today."
The Chief Minister planted 11 rudraksh saplings on the Gandhi Mandap premises. He urged all sections of society to contribute towards environmental protection following Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of cleanliness.
Lauding the Forest and Environment Department for its efforts which resulted in the reforestation of 10,000 hectares of land in the state, the Chief Minister elaborated on various activities undertaken by the department to increase forest cover. He also said that the 28 biodiversity parks named 'Sahitya Manishi Upaban' are being set up in 28 districts.
State Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said that a statutory notification declaring 422 sq km Raimona as a national park was brought out on Saturday.
"Upgrading of Dehing Patkai in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts has been a much-awaited aspiration for the conservation of rainforest and elephant habitats," Suklabaidya said.
The Raimona National Park in Kokrajhar district along West Bengal and Bhutan border has a variety of wildlife including Golden Langur, Asian elephant, tiger, clouded leopard, Indian gaur, wild buffalo, spotted deer, hornbill, more than 150 species of butterflies, 170 species of birds, 380 species of plants and many species of orchids, a press release said.