GUWAHATI:
A one-horned rhino was injured when a goods-carrying truck knocked it down on the National Highway 37 passing through Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) on October 8 afternoon.
The incident took place at Haldibari under the Kohora forest range when the truck was proceeding from Jorhat to Guwahati.
In a viral video shared by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, it was seen that the rhino, after being hit by the truck stands up on its feet in an attempt to get off the road but falls again. Visibly hurt, the rhino, in the second attempt is seen walking back into the jungle. However, park authorities do not know the status of the injured animal.
Rhinos are our special friends; we’ll not allow any infringement on their space.
In this unfortunate incident at Haldibari the Rhino survived; vehicle intercepted & fined. Meanwhile in our resolve to save animals at Kaziranga we’re working on a special 32-km elevated corridor. pic.twitter.com/z2aOPKgHsx
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 9, 2022
“The animal is yet to be traced. It received injuries in the backside. Our forest personnel are searching with the help of domestic elephants. Till 4 pm the animal could not be located,” Jatindra Sarma, director of KNPTR, said.
“The truck was intercepted at Bagori in Nagaon district with the help of the police immediately after the incident,” Sarma added.
The incident has promoted the park authorities to construct some more speed breakers on the national highway stretch.
The truck was clearly not following the restrictions put in place on the speed limit for vehicles plying on the National Highway stretch which passes through the park.
An official of the park said the forest department has imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the truck for violation of the restrictions, and similarly, the transport department also imposed a fine of Rs 4,000.