GUWAHATI: The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William and Duchess Catherine have expressed distress and are ‘heartbroken’ at animal deaths and flooding in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam.
Stating that in a letter to P Sivakumar, director of the park, both recalled their happy memories when they visited the park in April 2016.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also appreciated the relief and rescue efforts of the forest rangers in the national park.
“We are shocked by what has happened. The deaths of so many animals, including one-horned rhino, are deeply upsetting. We know from our visit how dedicated all the staff in Kaziranga are in caring for the park’s wildlife and can only begin to imagine what a difficult time this must be. Catherine and I greatly admire all the work that you and rangers at Kaziranga are doing to risk your own safety, rescue animals and contain the damage,” the letter, issued on July 21, 2020, said.
The third wave of flood in the year has created havoc in entire Assam and has taken a heavy toll on Kaziranga National Park where 95 per cent of the core Park area was submerged. Still 85 per cent area of the park is under flood water.
So far 125 animas including 12 precious rhinos have died in the park due to flood while 153 flood-hit animals could be rescued till date by the park staff. Out of the 223 forest camps inside the national park, 135 have been inundated while six camps have been vacated.