Assam CM Himanta Biswa Clears The Air On National Park Renaming Issue

GUWAHATI: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Thursday, said no national parks in Assam was named after any person and claimed the then state government had broke the convention in the year 2005 by affixing the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi before Orang National Park. The statement by Himanta was in connection with media reports about the state government's move to rename Rajiv Gandhi National Park into Orang National Park.

As per various media reports, the state cabinet passed a resolution on Wednesday about renaming of Rajiv Gandhi National Park into Orang National Park. The government said it took the decision of changing the park's name after taking the demands of Adivasis and tea tribes into consideration.

Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to tweet to clear the air surrounding the issue. As per his post, the government has taken the decision to restore the original name of the park to honour the local people's sentiments. Assam never had any national park's name after any person, but the government broke the convention in 2005 and the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was affixed, the post said.

Located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra in Darrang and Sonitpur districts, Rajiv Gandhi National Park has various kinds of wild animals like Royal Bengal tiger, wild elephants, Pygmy hog and wild water buffaloes among others. The park is spread over an area of around 79.28 square kilometres. It got the status of a wildlife sanctuary in 1985 and of a national park after a period of 14 years in 1999.

Also Read: Karnataka CM Flays Assam Govt Over Rajiv Gandhi National Park Renaming Move, Calls It Foolish Decision

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