Assam: Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar appreciate govt’s move to burn 2,479 rhino horns

GUWAHATI: On the occasion of World Rhino Day, the Assam government today burned 2,479 rhino horns to bust myths associated with it and prevent poaching of the animal. Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar also came forward to appreciate the step taken by the Assam government.

ALSO READ:Assam, Nagaland CMs hold meeting with Naga group in Dimapur

Appreciating the move, Rajiv Kumar tweeted, “It's necessary to assert our commitments, even symbolically, to make imperative that every possible step is taken to protect & preserve the endangered. A commendable step taken by

@himantabiswa

on #WorldRhinoDay for the rare one-horned rhino, #Assam:”

According to a report by IndianExpress, Several cases of rhino poaching were reported in the years leading up to 2013 and 2014. These two years witnessed the highest number of incidents in a decade, at 27 in each year. This has since decreased to 17 in 2015, 18 in 2016, 6 each in 2017 and 2018, and 3 in 2019.

The one-horned rhino, which was earlier “endangered” as per the IUCN Red List, is now listed as “Vulnerable.”

In 2019, the Assam government constituted a dedicated “Special Rhino Protection Force” to keep a check on rhino poaching and related activities at KNP. A March 2018 rhino census pegged the rhino population at 2,413 in KNP, 101 in Orang National Park, and 102 in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, and a more recent count said there were 43 in the Manas National Park.

A total of 2,479 rhino horns were burnt on Wednesday in six large iron pyres, specially made for the event, at a stadium located 240 km east of Guwahati. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accompanied by several cabinet colleagues, lit the pyres remotely through drones.

Follow us on Facebook