Govt to HC: DCs to ensure ban on fishing in Kaziranga during Bihu

Guwahati: State govt has submitted before the Gauhati High Court on Friday that orders prohibiting fishing in the water bodies in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNP&TR) on the Uruka day of Magh bihu have been issued and the district commissioners concerned are to ensure its implementation.

The court of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury was hearing a PIL, which was filed by Rohit Choudhury last month, seeking urgent judicial intervention to curb large scale fishing in the water bodies in the park.

The bench said the district commissioners may take the help of the superintendents of police concerned of the districts to stop any untoward activity in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, especially on the Uruka day on Jan 13.

The park spans multiple districts in Assam, primarily Golaghat and Nagaon, with portions in Sonitpur and Biswanath.

Additional advocate general PN Goswami submitted before the court that a series of prohibitory orders have been passed by the authorities concerned, preventing any kind of fishing on Jan 13 in the water-bodies located at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

The additional advocate general also submitted that the concerned district commissioner shall be under obligation to ensure that the prohibitory orders are implemented.

“Fishing on Uruka day is legally stopped by issuing prohibitory orders. However, it is a custom, which is being practised traditionally,” he added.

The matter will be heard next on Feb 27 by the bench.

In the last hearing in Dec, petitioner’s advocate A Phukan had informed the court that people in multitude enter the park annually during the Magh Bihu festival to carry out their traditional practices in a flagrant violation of the wildlife protection laws, which disrupts the already fragile ecosystem of the park.