Guwahati, Aug 7: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has clarified that the proposed luxury hotels to come up in the precincts of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) won’t hamper the ecology of the UNESCO Heritage site. Dismissing reports that the hotels would be constructed in eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) as mere “assumptions”, the Chief Minister, on Wednesday, clarified that the sites of the proposed luxury hotels are “far from the national park”. “The construction of luxury hotels in Kaziranga will not hamper the eco-sensitive zones as they will be built 1 kilometre away from the national park,” he told the press on the sidelines of the first-ever Passing Out Parade of the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) in Dergaon.
"We almost begged the companies to come and construct luxury hotels in Kaziranga, but I am afraid they might leave soon if protest keeps happening", said CM Sarma. The Chief Minister also reiterated that establishment of luxury hotels in and around the national park is a need of the hour to boost tourism in the state. Meanwhile, opposition to the proposed projects has been pouring in from several animal rights activist groups, farmers, indigenous communities and environmentalists.
A few weeks ago, a tense situation arose in Kaziranga when several tea workers, including women, were brutally beaten by the police for protesting against the construction of luxury hotels in Hathikuli and Inglay Pothar. The protesters also demanded land p.