Guwahati, Jan. 10: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the issue of climate change will substantially decrease if 30 per cent of the transport in the country is done through inland waterways.
The Chief Minister was addressing the 2nd Inland Waterways Development Council Meeting in Kaziranga on Friday.
“If 30 per cent of the country’s transportation is done through inland waterways, the fear of climate change will decrease. I would like to urge all Chief Ministers to take steps to see how much of our road and rail transport can be converted to inland waterways. That should be our yardstick,” the Chief Minister said.
Calling inland waterways the mark of civilisation, the Chief Minister said, “Civilisations began on the banks of rivers. This is our ‘natural road.’ People have constructed roads, railways, and aviation, but the inland waterways system is about 4,000-5,000 years old. Inland waterways are closely linked to human civilisation; hence, it is not a new development.”
The Chief Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the inland waterways are being reinvented to suit the changing times.
“We only have to reinvent it to suit the changing times and give it a new fillip. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister Sonowal, this sector is receiving renewed focus after years. The Prime Minister has started a huge plan to develop the maritime sector, and this will take us close to our 2047 dream of Viksit Bharat,” Sarma said.
Talking about Kaziranga National Park, the Chief Minister said that it is a story of successful conservation.
“Prior to 2014, every year there would be cases of poaching of around 50 rhinos in a year. There is an impression among some countries that the horn of the rhinos in Kaziranga has a high medicinal value. When Sarbananda Sonowal became the Chief Minister of Assam, steps on anti-rhino poaching were taken up in a big manner. During his tenure alone, poaching of rhinos has come down from 50-60 to about 4-5. Today, poaching of rhinos has gone down to 1 or nil cases. We have freed Kaziranga from the menace of poaching, and it is considered to be one of the best conservation stories in the world landscape,” the Chief Minister said.
He further added that while other national parks have witnessed shrinking areas, Kaziranga has witnessed expansion through people’s efforts and coordination.
Further, highlighting the Central government’s efforts to preserve wildlife, the Chief Minister added, “During the floods, these animals that we now see in the northern region go southward to the nearby district of Karbi Anglong. During this period, due to the construction of the National Highway in the area, there are reports of 80-100 rhinos dying each year from accidents. Now, the Prime Minister has provided for the construction of a 32-km long elevated corridor, just to save the wildlife.”
Addressing the misconception of rhino horns having medicinal value, the Chief Minister said, “We used to preserve horns of rhinos dying naturally or through poaching. In 2022, we got all those horns together and set them on fire to show the world that the horns of Assam’s one-horned rhinoceros have no medicinal value. It was to also give the rhinos a decent burial.”