Assam villagers felicitated for handing over rhino horn to forest department  

At a time when some miscreants are indulging in the smuggling of rhino horns for the sake of money, two villagers of Kaziranga have shown a rare example of honesty by recovering the horn of the rhinoceros and handing over the same to the forest department.

The villagers have been identified as Bilap Patra and Boga Patra. 

According to sources in the forest department, two farmers of nearby Mohpara village near Kahora forest area of Kaziranga National Park on September 29, while going to the area near the park to cultivate black lentils recovered the horn.

Notably, while preparing the field, the two villagers found the rhino horn and immediately went to the forest officer to submit the find.

The forest department honoured the two villagers by providing 'gamosa'. 

Appreciating the efforts done by the villagers, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to its micro blogging site Twitter and wrote, "Appreciate the inspiring act of honesty displayed by Shri Boga Patro & Shri Bilab Patro.

After having found a broken piece of rhino horn at Tetelidanga Gaon near Mohpara under Kaziranga range, the duo immediately contacted forest authorities and handed it over to them."

Appreciate the inspiring act of honesty displayed by Shri Boga Patro & Shri Bilab Patro.

After having found a broken piece of rhino horn at Tetelidanga Gaon near Mohpara under Kaziranga range, the duo immediately contacted forest authorities and handed it over to them. pic.twitter.com/J2zvJmm19s

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 29, 2022

The forest department will be awarding the two villagers with certificates and cash prizes.

It is to be mentioned here that earlier statues of three rhinos created using ashes collected from rhino horns burnt to flames by the Assam Government were unveiled at Kaziranga National Park in Assam. 

This memorial is named 'Abode of the Unicorns”. It consists of three rhino sculptures, an adult male, an adult female and a calf. The three rhinos are also accompanied by statues of forest guards made of different materials. The male rhino is 10.5 feet long and 6 feet tall, the female is 11 feet long and 5.6 feet tall while the calf is 3.5 feet long and 1.5 feet tall.

The statue was unveiled by the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma along with Yoga Guru, Jagdish Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru.

Now, the historic move of burning 2500 rhino horns done last year will stay afresh for visitors of the national park.