Over 64,000 tourists have visited Kaziranga since October 21
(Sourced from PTI)
More than 64,000 tourists have visited the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, famed for the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, since it reopened on October 21. The park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, usually remains closed between June and September because of the annual floods and reopens in November. In 2018-19, over 47,10,971 domestic tourists and 25,739 foreign tourists had visited the state.
"64,100 tourists visited since October 21, 2020, and the revenue collected during the 70-day period was Rs. 127.32 lakh," said the park's Field Director P Sivakumar on Friday. "The park authorities have successfully restricted rhino poaching with only two rhinos hunted in 2020," he added.
Last September, the Assam government approved the seventh, eighth, and ninth additions to the Kaziranga National Park. In November, according to a directive of Guwahati High Court, the civil administration of Bokakhat Sub-division under the Golaghat district handed over the third and fifth additions to the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division of the park. The area of the third and fifth addition is 69.76 hectares and 115.36 hectares, respectively.
According to the census held in March 2018, the current Rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,413. It is also home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and therefore, was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. It is also a recognized Important Bird and Biodiversity Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.
