Gogoi opens jumbo fest at Kaziranga

[Guest guest]

GOOD NEWS FOR CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS OF ASSAM YET AGAIN !!

 

This is for the second consecutive year that the state governmentof

Assam decided to do away with events such as elephant football,

elephant mock fights, elephant tug of war and elephant races.

 

I am thankful to Ms. Belinda Wright, Smt Maneka Gandhi and Ms.

Anuradha Sawhney who together supported me in getting these events

banned from happening at the Elephant Festival during the 'Kaziranga

Centenary Celebrations in 2005, which was perhaps the biggest vctory

for ANIMAL RIGHTS in the north east India.

 

This indeed is a BIG setback to those who patronize such elephant

circus like events.

It was Mark Shand who as the International Ambassador to the

festival did not voice then.

Little did I know that this man would succeed in doing something

similar later at Jaipur, by hosting 'Elephant Polo'.

 

When there is collective effort and a WILL to do something good, it

surely does not need 30 long years or a life time, all it needs is

HEALTHY NETWORKING.

 

This noble act by the state government of Assam should be saluted by

all other states because they have maintained that games played on

elephants are NO FUN for elephants.

 

Please read the news report below.

 

Azam Siddiqui

 

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Link:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070106/asp/northeast/story_7225466.asp

 

Gogoi opens jumbo fest at Kaziranga

OUR CORRESPONDENT

 

Dergaon, Jan. 5: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurated the

fifth Kaziranga Elephant Festival today. At the function, a pledge

was taken to protect Kaziranga National Park's ecosystem.

 

During his speech at the inaugural function at Mihimukh at Kohora,

Gogoi also observed that human-elephant conflicts can be reduced

through public awareness. Gogoi said festivals like these, which

entail massive participation of people, can go a long way in

reducing the human-elephant conflict.

 

In the morning, a colourful procession of elephants was taken out

from Kohora to Mihimukh. It was led by Jayothaj, an elephant

belonging to the forest department. A total of 66 jumbos took part

in the procession, which was formally flagged off by Assam forest

and environment minister Rockybul Hussain. Dancers from different

tribes added splashes of colour to the festival.

 

The inaugural ceremony started with the title song, composed by Ajit

Bordoloi and Shantiram Sarmah. The other ministers present on the

occasion were Ajanta Neog and Himanta Biswa Sarma, who spoke a few

words.

 

The forest department has come under fire from wildlife NGOs after

a " rogue " tusker was killed on December 16.

 

Denouncing the action of the state government, the NGOs said this

was only a knee-jerk reaction to the escalating human-elephant

conflict in Assam as it skirts the real issue of loss and

degradation of habitats owing to encroachments in wild areas.

 

Representatives of different NGOs had questioned the logic behind

proclamation of the elephant as a " rogue " .

 

The opinion of the public as well as various stakeholders and

experts working in the field of human-elephant conflict could have

been sought before taking the hasty decision, one of them pointed

out.

 

A souvenir, Airawat, was published on the occasion. It was released

by MP Dip Gogoi. Senior officials of Golaghat district, including

deputy commissioner Dipak Kumar Goswami, were present at the

ceremony.

 

A national-level seminar on Biodiversity of Kaziranga and its

Conservation in the Context of Growing Tourist Inflow will be held

at the Kaziranga convention centre on Saturday.