Mary Sultana
Guwahati, September 22: In the honor of the five species of rhinoceros viz. Black, White, Greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan, the world celebrates September 22 as the ‘World Rhino Day’. As this magnificent creature is getting critically endangered in the wild and is on the verge of extinction, the celebration of ‘world rhino day’ aims to make people aware about the creatures’ importance and take steps to conserve them.
In the context of Assam, the one-horned rhino is said to be the ‘pride of Assam’. In the honor of this pride, the Assam Govt. has taken up a unique way to celebrate this day. In a cabinet meeting held on September 16, the Assam Govt. has decided to aflame 2,500 seized rhino horns at the Bokakhat Public Playground about 30 km from Kaziranga National Park. a heritage site famous for one-horned rhino. The event took place in the presence of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma besides several ministers and senior forest department officials.
Out of the total of 2,623 rhino horns lying in state treasuries, 2,479 horns has been aflame, 94 horns has been be preserved for academic purposes and 50 horns kept aside for ongoing court cases. The entire exercise carried out with regard to the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
The longest horn was found in Guwahati treasury while the heaviest was found in Bokakhat.