GUWAHATI:
Officials of the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division (EAWD), on February 23, said that the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) will be partially closed from February 26 and 27, on account of President Ram Nath Kovind’s slated visit to review the conservation efforts at the park.
Ahead of the President’s visit, MK Yadava, the principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife, visited the park to review the arrangements and gave details of Kovind’s visit such as the park tour by jeep or elephant safari.
The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of EAWD, Ramesh Kumar Gogoi informed that chief secretary Jishnu Baruah and DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta, among others, also visited the park to “take stock of the situation”.
The President of India, on a three-day visit to the state from February 25 to 27, will inaugurate the year-long commemoration of the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Borphukan, the celebrated commander-in-chief of the Ahom army.
He will also lay the memorial foundation of the 1669 Battle of Alaboi, fought in Kamrup, which resulted in severe reverses for the Ahoms. It preceded the “more-remembered” Battle of Saraighat (1671) where the Mughal army was pushed back by the Ahoms under the able leadership of the legendary general.
Interestingly, Kovind will be the second president to visit KNP after Neelam Sanjiva Reddy in 1982.
