Even Rhinos were not safe during Congress rule in Assam: 167 one-horned Rhinos were killed by poachers in Congress tenure
Guwahati: As promised by the BJP before it came to power in Assam, the consecutive BJP governments have succeeded in protecting the one-horned Rhinoceros in the state. What can be termed as a major success in Assam's one-horn Rhino conservation, only one rhino was poached in 2021 – the lowest in the last 21 years. The state government has managed to bring down Rhino poaching cases in the national park.
Assam Special DGP and The Anti-Poaching Task Force (APTF) of Kaziranga National Park chief GP Singh tweeted, "Year 2021 saw only one incident of rhino poaching in April 2021. The containment of poaching of One-horn rhino has been a major achievement of the Anti-Poaching Task Force constituted by @mygovassamin June 2021.Compliments to @assampolice and @kaziranga_personnel. @CMOfficeAssam".
The pride of Assam and endangered animal, the one-horned Rhinoceros, were in danger during the reign of previous Congress governments from 2001 to 2016. Hundreds of Rhinos were killed by poachers during that period.
In 2013-14 alone, 54 rhino poaching cases were reported from Kaziranga. During the three consecutive terms of the Congress government in Assam from 2001 to May 2016, at least 167 Rhinos were killed by poachers in Kaziranga and Manas.
The APTF was formed in 2021 to check rhino poaching in Kaziranga, and in the first year, only one rhino poaching was reported from the national park.
In April 2021, the carcass of an adult male rhino with its horn missing was found near a water body inside Kaziranga national park and it was the only incident of poaching reported in Assam last year which was the lowest in 21 years.
The number of poaching of one-horned Rhinos came down drastically after the BJP government came into power in 2016. In 2017 only 6 Rhinos were killed by poachers. It was 18 in the previous year. In 2018, seven incidents were reported and in 2019, this went down to only three cases, and just two in 2020.
Assam has a sizable 3,400 numbers of Rhinos now, which has increased many folds in the last several decades.
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