Guwahati: Kaziranga National Park carried out controlled burning of the forest “to prevent unwanted grass from expanding further”.
“It is a habitat management practice being done in Kaziranga and other national parks. It’s done between February 2nd week- March 1st week,” Bhaskar Deka, DFO Nagaon told ANI.
“The burning of grasslands is carried out annually. It also provides an additional benefit: better visibility of wildlife for tourists and better visibility of poachers for the forest personnel. The burning of grassland is carried out in stages so that there are sufficient areas with tall grass left to act as a cover for smaller wildlife,” he added.
The DFO further stated that the burning of grasslands is carried out annually. It also provides an additional benefit, better visibility of wildlife for tourists and better visibility of poachers for the forest personnel.
He further stated that the burning of grasslands is carried out in stages so that there are sufficient areas with tall grass left to act as a cover for smaller wildlife.
It may be mentioned that this year, the tourist flow in Kaziranga has crossed 1 lakh 75 thousand till third week of January which has set a record. The forest department has collected a revenue of around 4crore rupees this year.
Both domestic and foreign tourists visited the park after it reopened. “This year the tourists footfall is very high than last year. The jeep safaris have received good numbers of tourists. At least 700-800 jeep safaris are booked everyday in both Bagori and Kohora range,” said an official of the Kaziranga National Park.
The official further stated that last year there were no tourists but this year the numbers are good till date. The resorts are full of tourists and people have to book jeep safaris a week prior to their visit to the park or else it is difficult to get jeep safaris.
