Corridor tusks raise eyebrows

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The Sentinel, Guwahati, Friday, 09 December, 2005

Link: www.sentinelassam.com

 

Corridor tusks raise eyebrows

 

The majestic elephant tusks that adorn the facade of the Assam

Assembly building at Dispur. (To see the picture, please visit:

www.sentinelassam.com)

 

By a Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 8: Display of a pair of elephant tusks in the busy

corridor of the State Assembly has created confusion among the

wildlife lovers here.

 

At a time when much has been done by the departments concerned to

mobilize public awareness to prevent illegal possession of wildlife

remains, the question of whether the State Government itself is

flouting the existing wildlife rules has come to the fore.

 

According to Gouranga Paul Das, secretary of the State Assembly, the

elephant tusks have been there even when the capital was at

Shillong. They had been transported at the time of the shifting of

the State capital to Guwahati in 1972, he said.

 

According to the Wildlife (Transaction and Taxidermy) Rules, 1973 it

is necessary for a person who possesses any wildlife trophy or

animal article in his custody to obtain a permission of ownership

from the Chief Wildlife Warden or any other official concerned.

However, the last date of submitting application in this regard had

expired on October 14, 2003, said MC Malakar, Chief Coservator of

Forest (Wildlife).

 

It is not known whether the Assembly authorities had obtained the

required permission of ownership of the elephant tusks or not.

However, Malakar has found nothing wrong in keeping the ivory in the

Assembly premises. " The problem is that if we confiscate any

wildlife trophy illegally possessed by a person or any private party

we have to keep it in a godown. It is better to keep the pair of

tusks being displayed in the Assembly corridor with the Government

as a symbol of heritage, " he said.