Kaziranga has become the first National Park in India to have been equipped with satellite phones, officials said on Wednesday.
The decision to provide satellite phones for boosting anti-poaching measure was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on May 27. The State’s Chief Secretary, Jishnu Barua, handed over 10 such phones to the Kaziranga forest personnel.
The satellite phones will be used in pockets of the park’s six ranges with no wireless or poor mobile connectivity.
“Kaziranga has become the first in the country to use satellite phones, which are generally used by the law-enforcing agencies. The satellite phones will give an edge to the forest personnel over the poachers and also during emergencies like floods,” Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said.
The public is barred from using satellite phones in India.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority had procured the 10 satellite phones for Kaziranga at an estimated cost of Rs 16 lakh. The park authorities will bear the monthly expenses for the service provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
