Royal safari at Kaziranga

The maiden visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Princess Catherine has added fervour to Rongali Bihu festivities in Assam.

The British royals on Tuesday landed at the garrison town of Tezpur to visit the world’s largest one-horn rhino park in India — the Kaziranga National Park.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who was present to receive them, told reporters, “We are very happy and honoured that Prince William and his wife visited the Kaziranga National Park and we have served them a taste of Assamese cuisine and hospitality.” His visit to Assam during Rongali Bihu has also brought the rich cultural heritage of the state into focus, he added.

The royal couple were lodged at Diphlu River Lodge near Kaziranga National Park on Tuesday night. The local artistes presented ethnic cultural dances in their honour.

The British high commission said, “The royal couple are interested to see how communities manage the conflicts that arise when humans and wild animals live in close proximity and will also meet park rangers inside Kaziranga to discuss how the park protects its animal populations from poachers as demand in other parts of Asia for rhino horns continues to rise.” William and Kate planned their visit to Kaziranga particularly to focus global attention on conservation, a move welcomed by various conservationist groups. However, Kaziranga, a Unesco World Heritage Site, has been in focus due to frequent killing of rhinos by poachers. Just three days ago yet another rhino had been poached, bringing the total number of rhinos killed in the park in 2016 to six. Poachers shot dead the rhinoceros and sawed off its horn on Sunday.

The 480-sq-km grassland park is home to the world’s largest population of rare, one-horned rhinos as well as other endangered species, including swamp deer and the Hoolock gibbon.

Meanwhile, the outlawed outfit Ulfa (Independent), too, in a statement welcomed the visit of the royal couple and hoped that their visit to Kaziranga would be a turning point in the battle to save the rhinoceros, whose plight in its habitat is a matter of great concern.

The royals on Wednesday took a safari ride amid tight security to get a first-hand look at the park. They left for Bhutan on Wednesday.