How Banning Mining Activities Around Kaziranga Helped Reduce Animal Deaths In Assam Flood

The Kaziranga National Park in Assam is still reeling under the devastating flood that wreaked havoc there for nearly two weeks.

As the downpour began subsiding and the floodwater receding, the full extent of the damage caused to the protected area is slowly coming to light. Around 40 per cent of the UNESCO World Heritage site is still submerged under water.

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The flood this year has taken a massive toll on the wildlife population in Kaziranga.?

According Park director P Sivakumar 205 animals, including 17 rhinos, an elephant, 112 hog deer, 12 sambar deer, seven swamp deer, two buffalo, 18 wild boar, and three porcupines were killed in the flood this year. This is in addition to the 16 hog deer and a sambar which were hit by speeding cars while trying to cross a highway that passes through Kaziranga.??

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Around 60 animals which were rescued by the Center For Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) a joint initiative by the Wildlife Trust of India, an NGO, and the Assam Forest Department are being treated and taken care in the facility in the park itself.?

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According to environmentalists, the animal death toll could have been higher if the were not able to migrate to higher areas of Karbi Anglong which were until recently mines.?

The Supreme Court, in April this year, had banned all mining activity on the southern fringes of Kaziranga and catchment areas of rivers and streams originating in Karbi Anglong.?

Environmentalist Rohit Choudhury who had filed the complaint against mining in Karbi Anglong said ever since the quarrying activities have been put to a halt, animals have begun migrating there.?

"All the mining activities have stopped here now. In the past when mining was still happening, there used to be a lot of JCBs which were making loud noise all throughout the day. The frequent movement of trucks through the area also turned the animals away. Now since the mining has stopped the animals have begun moving back to the area," Choudhury told Indiatimes.?

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"This is not anything new. This was their original habitat. Only due to mining the animals had kept away from those places. We now have heard of elephants, tigers, and other animals in places which were mines until recently. This is definitely a positive sign and even in the coming years will help in reducing the number of animal deaths in flood," he said.?

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"The ban on mining was really significant. Basically Kaziranga and Karbi Anglong are part of a single landscape which is divided by the National Highway. Once Kaziranga starts flooding the animals could move to Karbi Anglong. But due to the mining and quarrying activities it was not happening for some years now. In April, the Supreme Court, based on the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee report, banned mining in the catchment area of Kaziranga," Sivakumar, the Director of KNP said.?

He also claimed that other than increasing the animal movement in the area the Supreme Court ban has also helped in reducing the human-animal conflict.?