Two hundred children from the fringe areas of Kaziranga National Park will get to enjoy free jeep safaris to explore the beauty of the national park, which was reopened for the tourist season on Saturday.
Assam Environment and Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain, who inaugurated the tourist season on Saturday, told The Hindu that the free trip for children was a collaborative effort of the Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association and the Environment and Forest Department.
“The idea is to facilitate children who have never gone inside the park, though born and brought up in the fringe areas of a world heritage site, to gain firsthand knowledge of the rich treasure trove of Kaziranga. We have requested the jeep safari association to facilitate free trips to 100 children, while we will facilitate free trips to 100 children,” added the Minister.
Winners of a children art competition organised by the park authorities went on a complimentary jeep safari on the opening day, said Divisional Forest Officer of the park S.K. Seal Sarma.
Mr. Hussain said that the response of visitors on the first day of the new tourist season was overwhelming. “I have never seen such a turnout on the very first day.We expect Kaziranga to get more tourists this season,” he said. Altogether 1,21,513 domestic tourists and 6,922 foreign tourists visited the national park in 201314. The park generated a revenue of Rs 2.66 crore in 201314.
The Minister said that as part of antipoaching measures four electronic eye system towers equipped with high resolution optical and thermal imagers and three floating antipoaching camps would become operational by mid-November.
