By our correspondent
Guwahati, Oct 1:
Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA), while appreciating the announcement of State chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to upgrade Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary as a National Park, urges the State government in Dispur to fulfill the promise within the Wildlife Week (1 to 7 October 2020).
The forum of nationalists also endorses the demand of pioneer conservation group in the region Nature’s Beckon to expand the area of proposed Dehing Patkai National Park to around 500 square kilometer with the addition of contiguous virgin forestland so that the Amazon of East could be well protected under the prescribed laws.
Presently the wildlife sanctuary covers 111.19 sqkm on the southern bank of mighty Brahmaputra river. Named after Dehing / Dihing (a river flows through it) and Patkai (the hill which supports the forest), the forest reserve was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 2004. Nature’s Beckon demanded to protect the entire 500 sqkm of contiguous pristine forest cover comprising Joypur reserve forest, upper Dehing/Dihing reserve forest and Dirak reserve forest, whereas the government declared a small part of it as a sanctuary.
“The government should safeguard the forest & wildlife of Dehing Patkai virgin forest areas that gives shelter to a large number of Asiatic elephants along with over 290 species of bird, 50 species of butterfly, 45 species of mammal, 25 species of reptile, thousands species of insects, etc under the specific laws of the land,” said a PPFA statement adding that it would be a worthy gift to the people on the occasion of Wildlife Week.