The Orang National Park (ONP) in Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam will reopen for tourists on Thursday after remaining closed for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the monsoon, an official said. While, Kaziranga and Manas national parks will reopen on October 1.
All COVID-19 protocols and safety guidelines will be followed for the visitors, ONP Divisional Forest Officer Pradipta Baruah said in a notice.
Only a portion of the safari route inside the park will be opened for tourists at present due to the poor condition of roads owing to the recent flood, the DFO said.
“The remaining part of the route will be opened after repairing the roads and it will be notified in due course,” he added.
The national park is located 32 km from Tezpur and 140 km from Guwahati. It is known for wild animals like Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian Rhinos, and wild elephants.
All wildlife parks and sanctuaries in Assam are closed for tourists during the monsoon. This time, the parks were shut before the normal schedule because of the outbreak of the second wave of the COVID-19.
The Kaziranga National Park (KNP), known world over for its one horn rhinos, will initially be opened partially with access to only three ranges from October 1, an official release said. Tourists, who flock to the largest national park in the north east from the country and abroad, will be allowed to have only jeep safari for the time being but not the much sought after elephant ride, it said.
On September 1 the Assam cabinet had decided to drop the name of former prime minister from Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and revert to the old name of Orang National Park. (PTI)