(IN): WWF raps Dispur on park fracas

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090330/jsp/northeast/story_10742619.jsp

 

WWF raps Dispur on park fracas

A STAFF REPORTER

 

*Guwahati, March 29*: The World Wildlife Foundation, India, has asked Dispur

to “respond firmly and swiftly against perpetrators of violence against

people engaged in wildlife protection”.

 

This particularly strong “request” comes with the Assam government failing

to arrest the two legislators who attacked a Kaziranga National Park guard

recently.

 

The WWF in a letter said only swift action would help restore the faith and

confidence of the park’s staff who will then be able to discharge their

duties effectively.

 

The letter was written by the secretary general and CEO of WWF India, Ravi

Singh, to Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on March 25, a highly placed

source in Dispur said today.

 

Members of NGOs involved in wildlife protection today staged a sit-in here

today to protest against the failure of the authorities to arrest the two

MLAs — Jiten Gogoi and Kushal Durai — and initiate legal proceedings against

them.

 

“It is especially reprehensible when such violence is carried out by

honourable public representatives and the response of the state in such

cases will be keenly watched,” Singh said in his letter.

 

Singh said the issue of leadership also merits attention. “Somewhere, the

incidents are also indicative of the collective inability of the leadership

in the conservation sector to take charge and respond to what is clearly a

crisis.”

 

Though Assam has officials who are certainly amongst the best in the

country, he said, the support and guidance they get, do not seem very

evident at this point and needs to be reiterated swiftly.

 

Elaborating on the incidents, which have taken place in the recent past,

Singh said their trend pattern were disturbing and “strike at the very

respect for authority”.

 

“To ensure changes from a longer term perspective, it is necessary to bring

in the issues of conservation and ecological security at the very stage of

development planning,” Singh said.

 

The WWF also mentioned about the increasing human-animal conflicts and

recommended that the state set up specialised squads to handle such cases

and added that the teams must be equipped properly.

 

“Kaziranga deserves the very best and clearly more needs to be done. All

unnatural deaths of rhinos and tigers need to be investigated in detail and

findings made public shortly and only then can appropriate corrective steps

be taken to improve the system. By ignoring such clear cut warning signs we

are only delaying the inevitable” Singh said.

 

He requested Gogoi to take immediate cognisance of the current situation and

take steps to restore biodiversity values of Assam and faith in state

machinery to deliver the goods towards this cause.

 

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