With the growing number of poaching incidents of one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga National Park hitting the headlines, an association of Assamese and Northeast NRIs have urged the Government to declare poachers as terrorists. Rajen Barua, president of Friends of Assam & Seven Sisters, in a letter to the media in Guwahati, said that the responsibility of providing security to rhinos and other inmates of Kaziranga should be handed over to the Army.“Killing rhinos should be declared as an anti-national activity and those indulging in such acts should be declared as terrorists and anti-terrorist laws should be applicable against them,” Barua said in his mail.Barua said the news of rhino poaching in Assam has brought a bad name not merely for Assam but for the entire country. “It is a matter of concern that the state Government has not been able to check rhino poaching effectively,” he added.Meanwhile, a citizens’ meeting held here on Thursday expressed concern over increasing incidents of rhino poaching in Kaziranga and urged the Government to immediately raise the strength of the forest protection force in the Park. A World Heritage Site, Kaziranga, whose area was increased from 430 sq km to 890 sq km eight years ago, currently has 435 guards to protect 1,800-odd rhinos, 86 tigers and hundreds of other species. State Forest and Environment Minister Rockybul Hussain has admitted that the Government has not been able to provide enough manpower to protect the animals.
