kaziranga national park

Kaziranga National Park

Your Name and Class

18-Apr-23

Aim of the project

The purpose of the project is to develop a detailed report on the history, geography, heritage and the management of the Kaziranga National Park. Kaziranga National Park – a world heritage site, the park hosts two-thirds of the world’s Great One-horned rhinoceros. Kaziranga also boasts the highest density of tigers among the protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deer.

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Hypothesis

Recognized as a World Heritage Site, Kaziranga National Park is expected to be a visual treat with a very diverse ambit of flora and fauna clubbed with top notch hospitability. It is also expected to be a very safe place for all the inhabitants away from poachers and predators. All the endangered species are assumed to be well-nurtured to give birth to their young ones multiple times so that they don’t remain endangered. Many experts are expected to working full time to research on the well-being of the residents as well as to understand and respond to the their needs. Being a noted tourist spot, the security of all its visitors is expected to be world-class. It should ideally be an employment centre that provides hundreds of jobs.

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Objectives

The primary objective of this project is to ascertain the quality of maintenance of the Kaziranga National Park. It is also very important to understand the history of the Park, the heritage it represents and the geographical influence it has had over the course of time. It is these factors that make the Kaziranga National Park a spectacle that it is today. Also, the security of the inhabitants as well as the visitors has to be thoroughly examined. An effort is made to understand the world of tourism at Kaziranga National Park.

Methodology

Extensive Secondary research has been done, since it has not been possible to visit Kaziranga National Park. A lot of Literature survey has gone through in compilation of this project work. Reviews from Visitors have been thoroughly studied and it has been extremely useful in the process.

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Kaziranga National Park – A Tourist Area

Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destination outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes such as business, leisure, etc.

Different types of tourism are:

Modern Day Tourism Winter tourism Mass tourism Adjectival tourism Recent developments Sustainable tourism Ecotourism Pro-poor tourism Recession tourism Medical tourism Educational tourism Creative tourism Experiential Tourism

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Dark tourism Doom tourism Space tourism Sports tourism

The Kaziranga National Park or the Kazironga Rastriyo Uddan is a reserved forest and one of the oldest national parks in India. Kaziranga is located between latitudes 26°30' N and 26°45' N, and longitudes 93°08' E to 93°36' E within two districts in the Indian state of Assam—the Kaliabor subdivision of Nagaon district and the Bokakhat subdivision of Golaghat district.

History says that Mary Victoria Leiter Curzon, wife of Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, visited the area sometime in 1904. She was shocked when she failed to see a single rhino in the area for which it is renowned. Upon her persuasion, Lord Curzon took immediate measures to initiate plans to protect the waning species. The Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created on 1 June 1905, covering an area of 232 sq km. The next three years saw the extension of the park by 152 sq km. In 1908 it became a reserved forest and in 1916 it was designated The Kaziranga Game Sanctuary. In 1938 the park was opened for

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visitors and hunting was prohibited. Again in 1950, it was renamed as Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary by the forest conservationist P. D. Stracey. In 1968 the Assam government declared Kaziranga as a national park by passing the Assam National Park Act of 1968. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985 by the UNESCO. The centenary of the park was celebrated in 2005 and the invitees included descendants of Lord Curzon and Baroness. For the first time, elephants were relocated from one national park to the other in India when elephants and two rhinos were relocated to the Manas National Park from Kaziranga.

Tourism Infrastructure

The Wildlife wing of the forest department of the Government of Assam, headquartered at Bokakhat, is responsible for the administration and management of Kaziranga.

Travel Options

Kaziranga National Park can be approached by two airports, Jorhat - 97 km away and Guwahati - 217 km away. The closest railhead is Furkating around 75 km away but the more popular one is the Guwahati railhead. Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) conducts regular bus service from Tezpur, Guwahati and other upper parts of Assam to the park. Motorcycle tours are also conducted in group in Assam and other adjoining states arranged by different tour operators. The tour includes Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur covering popular places as also rural regions giving the visitor a chance to experience tradition and culture of the tribes.

Accommodation Options

Kaziranga has various government and private accommodation options in the vicinity of the National Park. The accommodation options are varied in range and can cater to people to all economic backgrounds. Few notable accommodation options are listed below.

1) IORA – The Retreat (Starting from Rs. 3215 per night)

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2) Wild Grass (Starting from Rs. 1900 per night)3) Jupuri Ghar ( Starting from Rs. 1800 per night)4) Hotel Arjun (Starting from Rs. 900 per night)

All the accommodation options can be explored on all the leading Hotel-booking sites.

Entrance Fees and Safari Charges

The entrance fee to Kaziranga National Park is Rs. 50 for Indians and Rs. 500 for foreign nationals.

Charge for a jeep ride in the surroundings of the park varies depending on the area selected. Western range and Central Range are the two most recommended ranges with charges Rs. 1200 and Rs. 1100 respectively as of January 2012. Charge of Eastern Range is Rs. 1500 and that of Kalapahar is Rs. 2000.

Charge of an elephant ride is Rs. 450 for an Indian citizen and Rs. 1000 for a foreign national plus a guard fee of Rs. 25.

Charges for cameras:

Still camera: Rs. 50 for Indian national and Rs. 500 for foreign national

Video camera: Rs. 500 for Indian national and Rs. 1000 for foreign national

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Opening Timings

The Kaziranga National Park opens daily from November 1st to 30th April every year for six months unless the management closes the park earlier due to unexpected rains for the purpose of safety. The Park remains partially open in the months of October and May. During monsoon that is June to September the park remains closed.

Typically the park remains open from 5:15 am to 3:30 pm daily unless otherwise the closing schedule is changed due to seasonal variation in climate. Kaziranga experiences early sunrise and early sunset compared to other places like Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmadabad. While the park experiences sunset at around 4:30 pm in November, in April sun sets around 5:30 pm.

From November 1st till 30th April, the first elephant ride is from 5:15 am to 6:15 am and the second from 6:30 am to 7:30 am. During winter it is advisable to take the second slot for an elephant ride when the fog gets cleared. Timing for jeep safaris is from 7:30 am to 9:30 am and from 2 pm to 3:30 pm. Jeep safaris are available from November 1st till 30th April and also on the months of October and May depending on the weather and road conditions.

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Tourist Activities

The means of travel inside the park is on the back of trained elephants with mahout guides, or in Jeep. Wildlife watching, including birding is the main activity inside the park. Viewing the scenic landscape of the park with different vegetation types interspersed with numerous beels and the snow covered mountains of Himalayas at a distance constitute other attractions. Hiking in the park is not allowed taking into consideration the large number of potentially dangerous wild animals. An interpretation centre is being set up at the Bagori range of Kaziranga, to help the visitors know everything about the park. As the Eastern Range of Kaziranga National Park has large water bodies, this area attracts more birds, which is why this area is perfect for birding.

Turn out of Tourists

The tourist numbers to the park have risen dramatically from 19,525 visitors in 1997 to about 516,000 in 2012. Tourists from all over the world come to visit this wonderful park. According to an official statement, during 2011-2012 Kaziranga National Park earned Rs 1.49 crore from 1,17,411 domestic and 7521 foreign visitors, while during 2012-2013 the Park earned Rs 2.06 crore from 90153 domestic and 7263 foreign tourists.

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Impact of Tourism in Kaziranga

Positives

The benefits of Tourism at Kaziranga can be mainly classified under three types.

1. Economic benefits - Tourism can provide direct jobs to the community, such as tour guides or hotel housekeeping. Indirect employment is generated through other industries such as agriculture, food production, and retail.

Visitors' expenditure generates income for the local community and can lead to the alleviation of poverty in the region.

Infrastructure development such as airports, roads, schools, hospitals, and retail areas have the potential to benefit the local community and can aid economic development by allowing more trade and better flow of goods and services.

2. Social benefits - Tourism can bring about a real sense of pride and identity to communities. By showcasing distinct characteristics of their ways of life, history and culture, tourism can encourage the preservation of traditions which may be at risk of

3. Environmental benefits - Tourism provides financial support for the conservation of ecosystems and natural resource management, making the destination more authentic and desirable to visitors. It also adds more value to the local tourism business.

Negatives

Many of the negative impacts from tourism occur when the amount of visitors is greater than the environment's ability to cope with the visitor volume.

Some of the consequences of exceeding the environmental capacity include strain on already scarce resources such as water, energy, food and natural habitat areas. In addition, unchecked tourism development may lead to soil erosion, increased pollution and waste, discharges into the sea and waterways, increased pressure

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on endangered species of animals and plants, and heightened vulnerability to deforestation, as well as loss of biodiversity.

The same way that tourism can encourage the preservation of socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, mass tourism may also erode traditional values by introducing foreign elements which are in conflict with the cultural, historical, and religious heritage of the community.

Recent Events

It was reported on April 20, 2014 that a male adult rhino was killed and its horn taken away by poachers in Kaziranga National Park in Assam, taking the number of pachyderms killed this year to nine. Park personnel recovered the carcass of the rhino from near Borgung Camp on the western side of the Burapahar Range of the World Heritage Site.

Such incidents question the level of security offered to the inhabitants of the Park and demands official scrutiny of the administration managing the Park. Endangered species should be given the maximum possible security against poachers and predators.

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Conclusion

From the extensive project work carried out, the following conclusions have been made:

Kaziranga National Park has developed to be one of the major tourist sites in India and worldwide

Kaziranga National Park has ensured stringent security measures for the visitors. No casualties have been reported in the recent times

Kaziranga National Park has visitors from all over the world Kaziranga National Park has provided active employment more than 500

people Although Kaziranga National Park has ensured adequate security measures

for its visitors, a lot is left to be achieved in terms of security of animals against poachers

Kaziranga National Park is very popular amongst Wildlife Photographers, Bird Watchers, Ornithologists, etc.

Kaziranga National Park has been a great source of income for the state of Assam

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Bibliography

1. http://infochangeindia.org/

2. http://www.kaziranga.co.in/

3. http://www.mapsofindia.com/

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/

5. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

6. http://www.hoparoundindia.com/

7. http://green.hotelscombined.com/

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