Assam is witnessing a media war between Governor PB Acharya and chief minister Tarun Gogoi for some time on the issue of rhino poaching in various forest reserves. Without naming the chief minister the governor commented that the state government had no specific plans to tackle the menace of unabated wildlife poaching.

The governor, who was sworn-in recently, made it clear that he was waging a war against poachers terming them as “enemies of the nation”. For the sake of conservation of wildlife, more precisely the rhinos, the governor would not leave any opportunity to express his concern over the unabated poaching of the endangered animals.

The year began with the sad news for the wildlife lovers as on 31 December 2014 night a full grown rhino was killed. Only in the first two months of this year as many as eight rhinos have been slaughtered in the state&’s various protected forest reserves and their horns removed.

Rhinos, a pre-historic vegetarian animal, are also fast losing their habitats because of climate changes and mostly rampant human encroachments. Wildlife experts argue that the rhinos “’in evolutionary term” are 50 million years old. The animal maintains some primeval habits, including defecating in the same place, that makes them vulnerable for poaching.

The one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) has a world population of around 3,300 and the species is surviving in India (mostly in Assam), Nepal and Bhutan only.Assam has over 2,550 rhinos (as per the state forest department&’s 2013 census) spreading over various protected forest reserves, including Kaziranga National Park (2.329), Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (100), Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park (95) and Manas National Park (21).

The rhinos are poached for their horns, which have high market values in China and some South-east Asian countries where they believe the horns to have medicinal (read Viagra) values. But biological scientists categorically deny any imperative value of the rhino horn, which is actually a collection of hairs on the nose of the animal.

Unconfirmed sources claim that a full grown rhino horn, which may weigh two to three kg with 40 cm in length, can fetch a few thousand US dollars in the illegal international market. As it is very profitable many people risk their lives for rhino horns.

Though the animal is protected under India’s powerful Wildlife Protection Act, in force since 1972, Assam continues to lose the precious rhinos. Last year, the state lost over 35 rhinos to poachers and the 2013 witnessed the killing of over 40 rhinos, most cases reported from the Unesco World Heritage Site in Kaziranga.

Speaking to the media in Guwahati recently the governor expressed doubts over the Assam forest department&’s ability to effectively protect the rhinos. He even suggested that the Kaziranga should be brought under the vigil of Indian Army personnel.

The governor also invited a group of intellectuals for interacting on the conservation initiative and later appealed to the state government to empower the people living in the fringe villages of reserve forests as the frontline defence against poachers. Stating rhinos as the highest pride of Assam, he said “We must all realise that it is our foremost responsibility to immediately and relentlessly nip in the bud the nefarious activities of poachers with the trust of people."

On the day of the budget session of the Assam assembly on 2 March, while expressing concern over rhino poaching incidents, he told reporters that “a small group of criminals is challenging the authority and also the government. We have to take stern actions. After all, the protection of rhinos is our responsibility.”

The governor also called the state forest department officials, including the director of Kaziranga National Park, and told them to adopt strict actions to curb poaching. The new forest minister, Etowa Munda did not attend citing prior engagements.

Commenting on the development, chief minister Gogoi even pointed out that everyone (read the governor) has his own responsibility and limits under the Constitution and he would expect the actions from the Governor under the constitutional guidelines.

The writer is the special representative of The Statesman, Guwahati