 |
|
|
Back to Current File Animals face flood fury in Kaziranga Park Kaziranga
(Assam): Floods in Assam have taken its toll on the animals in the
famous Kaziranga National Park, known for its one-horned rhinoceros.
Park officials said animals have perished in the rain-swollen Bramhaputra
river which flows through the 430 sq. km park. Large portions of the
park have been submerged and animals have moved to the highway in the
upper reaches and to the nearby Karbi Anglong Hills. Officials said
the situation was the worse than last year. "For the last three years
we are having floods but this year the floods have been very high. The
main thing is that park has been under water for very long time. For
past one month it has been going on. As of today it is a very very high
flood," said M.K. Vasu, park director. Vasu said 15 animals, including
10 hog deer, an old one-horned rhinoceros and pythons were killed by
floods this year. "Till now around 10-12 deers have died in Ghoraghati
range alone. We are in search for more. There must be more casualties.
We are trying our best to rehabilitate them," said Mahesh, a forest
guard. Although, a few artificial high rise platforms have been built
to save animals from floods, most of them are tottering in the rushing
waters. Officials have also set up a flood monitoring cell and an authority
to check the movement of vehicular traffic inside the park. Floods have
a two-fold impact on Kaziranga. On the positive side the flood waters
increase the fertility of the grassland and the fishes lay more eggs,
thus attracting more water birds. On the other hand, it brings about
massive destruction. In 1988, at least 1,200 animals including 48 rhinos
perished in the floods that ravaged large parts of Assam. Court ban leaves paragliders in Himachal high and dry Solang
(HP): A ban on paragliding has severely dented adventure tourism
in the Solang valley during the peak season. A district court had earlier
this month put a stop on the sport after a public interest litigation
(PIL) questioned the safety standards being followed by the operators.
Solang, near the picturesque tourist resort of Manali, is only the second
place in the country to offer this facility. Private operators organise
both professional and amateur paragliding in Solang with a single flight
costing a minimum of 650 rupees. Prices vary on skills of the sports
person and can go up to as high as one lakh rupees for a weeklong trip.
Besides the trainers, paragliding supports scores of small hoteliers,
restaurants, tourist guides amongst others and the ban has led to an
immediate and sharp fall in tourist inflow. "This ban is not good for
our tourism industry. Manali is the only place where adventure sports
are held and they provide employment to hundreds of people. This is
bad for the valley," Pranav Kant, a tour operator said. Though the state
government has begun work on a war footing to ensure that the safety
standards are raised to the optimum, adventure enthusiasts are a disappointed
lot. "I had come all the way to this place specially for paragliding,
we are very disappointed. We travelled 2000 km for adventure sports,
this is very sad," Gaurav Seth, a tourist, said. Paragliding enthusiasts converge at Solang Valley (Go To Top) Solang
(HP): Hordes of paragliding enthusiasts from the country and abroad
have flocked to Solang valley in Himachal Pradesh. The valley, situated
in picturesque tourist resort of Manali, is only the second place in
the country to offer the facility. Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir also
offers paragliding. Tourists are having a great time, and are enjoying
the scenic valley. "I was very scared initially but then I really enjoyed
it later on," said Akhil, a tourist from northern Jalandhar town. "The
valley is very good, first you start low and the higher you go the better
it gets. My teacher is very good and I am enjoying it very much," added
Shalley, a paragliding enthusiast from England. The state government
is also promoting adventure tourism in a big way to lure more and more
tourists in the state. Solang is fast taking over as a dream destination
in South Asia for paragliders from all over the world. The sport began
in India in 1995, but it was only in 2001 that the state decided to
regularise the sport and exploit the tourist potential. India has some
of the best cliffs and slopes in the world for paragliding but has limited
takers because of the high costs involved in the sport. |
NOTE: Free contributions of articles and reports may be sent to editor@indiatraveltimes.com
DISCLAIMER
All Rights Reserved ©indiatraveltimes.com