By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 29 Jun: The 15th meeting of the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Advisory Board was held at the Secretariat on Monday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. He said on the occasion that compliance of the decisions taken in the meetings should be ensured in time. The outcome of the action taken must also be visible. He said that the minutes of every meeting should also be prepared on the same day.
The Chief Minister reminded that the NH 72-A was very important for Uttarakhand. It needed to be given highest priority. Approvals of any kind should not be delayed in this regard. Reintroduction of the Rhinoceros in the Corbett Reserve and Rajaji Tiger Reserve should be done in a time bound manner. Chaurasi Kutiya located in Rajaji Tiger Reserve must be developed on the basis of an integrated approach. All aspects including wildlife, spirituality and culture had to be included in the action plan.
He added that the Gartang Gali Trail located in Gangotri National Park should be revived. Its originality should also be preserved.
At the meeting, the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Advisory Board agreed to send proposals to the National Wildlife Board seeking permission for the construction of various routes in Gangotri National Park. These routes are very important for national security.
It was stated at the meeting that elephants were counted in Uttarakhand for three days from 6 to 8 June. It was found that there are a total of 2026 elephants in the state. In the year 2012, there were 1559 elephants and in 2017, there were 1839 elephants. Since the year 2017, the number of elephants has increased by 10.17 percent.