Guwahati, July 4: Sixteen hog deer and an otter pup were reported to have died in flood-affected Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, even as 72 animals of the park have been rescued, a park official informed.
According to a report on the rescue and release of animals of the park on Thursday morning, altogether 63 hog deer were rescued of which 11 hog deer died owing to drowning amidst the rising water level, while five hog deer died under care.
“Twenty-six hog deer have been treated and released while 21 others are currently under treatment. Besides, two sambar deer and one Indian hare were treated and released into the wild,” the report shared by the park’s field director informed.
Among other affected animals under treatment at the park include one otter pup, one rhino calf, one jungle cat and two scops owls.
Meanwhile, several parts of Kaziranga National Park remain affected by the floodwaters with a total of 141 camps out of 233 camps at the park submerged (up to five feet water) as on Thursday morning.
It may be mentioned that two waves of deluge have wreaked havoc in the state over the past month, and 46 flood-related deaths apart from one urban flood-related death have been reported in the state till Wednesday.
As many as 16.25 lakh people in 29 districts have been affected by the second wave of floods, prompting the state Cabinet on Wednesday to gear up monitoring of flood relief and rescue operations in the affected districts.
In Nagaon, a population of over 3.86 lakh has been affected while over 2.62 lakh people and 1.91 lakh people have been affected in Karimganj and Darrang respectively.
As far as infrastructure damaged by the floods, 40 embankments have been breached; 60 embankments have been affected, while as many as 922 roads and 52 bridges have been damaged by the deluge till Wednesday evening.
“To ensure proper supervision, I have requested Cabinet Ministers to be stationed in various districts for the next three days,” chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The chief minister will soon lead a team of ministers to take stock of the situation in flood-affected Barak Valley for three to four days.
More than 25,000 people are currently staying in 181 relief camps across 24 districts.
Rescue operations are being conducted by teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire and Emergency Services, local administration, Indian Army and paramilitary forces.