Raimona becomes Assam’s sixth national park
The 422 sq ft wildlife habitat in Kokrajhar district adjoins western-most buffer to Manas Tiger Reserve
Raimona in Kokrajhar district has change into Assam’s sixth national park.
Eastern Assam’s Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, underneath stress for unregulated coal mining within the neighborhood is within the technique of changing into the seventh national park, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned at a operate to mark World Environment Day on Saturday.
The 5 national parks that existed previous to the 422 sq. km Raimona are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa.
Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya mentioned a notification declaring Raimona as a national park was introduced out on Saturday. “Upgrading Dehing Patkai has been a long-felt need for the conservation of rainforest and elephant habitats,” he acknowledged.
Within Bodoland Territorial Region
The Raimona National Park is inside the Bodoland Territorial Region. The space of the park contains the northern a part of the notified Ripu Reserve Forest (508.62 sq. km), which varieties the western-most buffer to the Manas National Park that straddles the India-Bhutan border.
Forest officers mentioned Raimona was bounded on the west by the Sonkosh river alongside the Assam-West Bengal border operating southward from the India-Bhutan border and the Saralbhanga river on the east until it touched the India-Bhutan border on the north and the southern a part of the Ripu Reserve Forest.
The Pekua river defines Raimona’s southern boundary.
“Raimona also shares contiguous forest patches of the Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and the Jigme Singye Wangchuk National Park in Bhutan (total area of 1,999 sq. km) creating a transboundary conservation landscape of more than 2,400 sq. km,” a senior forest official mentioned.
“Such secured transboundary ecological landscape will ensure the long-term conservation of endemic species like the golden langur, the mascot of Bodoland Territorial Council and endangered species such as the Asian elephant, the Bengal tiger and varied other flora and faunal species it supports,” he mentioned.
Raimona is an integral a part of the two,837 sq. km Manas Biosphere Reserve and the Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve.