In what may be termed as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNP & TR) in Assam have become the first national park in the country where security personnel and forest staff have been equipped with 10 satellite phones in a bid to curb poaching.

The move, it is learnt, was taken to overcome communication hurdles deep in the forest where phones or certain wireless devices barely have signals. It is imperative that forest guards maintain seamless communication with each other for quick responses during anti-poaching operations.

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It may be noted that Kaziranga is often the victim of poaching as it is home to more than 2,400 Indian rhinos who are killed mainly for their horns and skin which gets sold illegally in international markets.

The decision to arm the forest guards with satellite phones was taken following a meeting by the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the minister for Environment and Forest, Parimal Suklaibaidya who suggested that it will boost anti-poaching measures through effective coordination.

A senior official of KNP & TR said that 10 satellite phones were handed over to the forest staff by Assam chief secretary Jishnu Barua. The satellite phones have already been activated for use. These phones were procured at an estimated cost of Rs 16 lakh and would be used in the park’s six ranges with no wireless facility or poor mobile connectivity.

More importantly it was highlighted that the Assam state disaster management authority has procured the 10 satellite phones for KNP & TR staff with BSNL as the service provider. To give the forest officers the knowledge of operating these, BSNL engineers have trained the staff on how to operate the satellite phones in the shadow areas and grooves, where there is seldom a mobile tower.

“The KNP & TR has become the first national park in the country to use satellite phones as this facility is generally used by the law enforcing agencies for serious security or disaster-related situations. Common people are barred from using satellite phones in India,” the official said.

“With the availability of satellite phones deep inside the national park, the communication bottleneck in supervising the security of the park would be removed,” the official said.

Set up in 1908, the Kaziranga national park, one of India’s seven UNESCO world heritage sites in the natural and environment category since 1985, extends across Assam’s Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Karbi Anglong districts along the Arunachal Pradesh border.

Besides rhinos, it has tigers, elephants, Asiatic buffalos, swamp deer, wild boars, hog deer, porcupines and other endangered animals and reptiles. At least 12 rhino poachers and smugglers of rhino horns have been arrested by the Assam police this year, leading to the recovery of sophisticated arms and ammunition from their possession.

…With IANS inputs