President Ram Nath Kovind ends Assam tour with safaris at Kaziranga National Park

GUWAHATI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday concluded his three-day-visit to Assam after enjoying elephant and jeep safaris in

Kaziranga

National Park and

Tiger Reserve

(KNPTR), where he also took stock of the conservation efforts.

Kovind was apprised about the 35km-long proposed elevated corridor that is being planned along National Highway 37, that passes through the park, in order to allow free movement of wildlife.

State forest minister Parimal

Suklabaidya

said Kovind agreed to the idea of the elevated corridor. “He (Kovind) opined that the elevated corridor is needed in Kaziranga,” said Suklabaidya.

President Kovind, in the presence of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also inaugurated a photo and archival exhibition on conservation and presentation of the much-talked proposed Kaziranga Elevated Corridor at Kohora.

Besides saving the wild animals from being hit by vehicles, forest department officials said the elevated corridor will help undisturbed movement of wildlife through the natural corridors. “The planning is to complete the corridor, mostly over the existing national highway, in three segments. Vehicles will pass over the animals, when the corridor is completed,” said a forest department official.

The exhibition which Kovind witnessed essentially depicted the big five — the rhino, elephant, tiger, swamp deer and wild buffalo. The exhibition also highlighted different sections like the rich biodiversity of Kaziranga National Park, annual floods, forest protection force and other protection measures, the ecstatic natural beauty of the park among others.

Chief minister Sarma, while welcoming the President along with first lady

Savita Kovind

, said the visit of the President to Kaziranga World Heritage Site will encourage the park authority along with its forest guards and other fringe workers and NGOs to work more diligently to sustain its conservation work and take them to a greater height. He also expressed his gratitude to the President for his guidance which will definitely help the government set new examples for the Kaziranga model of conservation and protection to be emulated elsewhere.

Environment minister Suklabaidya, agriculture minister Atul Bora along with other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. Later, Sarma and his ministerial colleagues saw the President off at Rowriah airport in Jorhat.