Kaziranga National Park Halts Elephant Safari Amidst Dispute Over Reserved Seats for Officials

&NewLine;<p>December 25&comma; 2023&colon; In a surprising turn of events&comma; the iconic Kaziranga National Park in Assam has made the difficult decision to indefinitely suspend its popular elephant safari&comma; effective from December 24&period; This unexpected move comes as a direct response to a recent directive from the Assam Forest Department&comma; mandating the reservation of one seat on each elephant exclusively for forest department officials&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Reports indicate that the national park authorities strongly disagree with this directive&comma; citing impracticality&comma; and are now seeking resolution through the temporary closure of the beloved safari experience&period; The Assam Forest Department&&num;8217&semi;s directive&comma; aimed at ensuring a designated seat for forest officials during elephant safaris&comma; has generated discontent among Kaziranga National Park authorities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Arguing that the implementation of such a reservation is logistically unfeasible&comma; the park authorities have opted to halt the elephant safari until a mutually agreeable resolution is achieved&period; The directive emphasizes the importance of a separate seat on the back of elephants for security reasons&comma; a point contested by the national park authorities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>They have highlighted the impracticality of this requirement&comma; stating that it will disrupt the normal operations of the safari and compromise the overall experience for both tourists and the animals involved&period; Adding to the complexity&comma; the national park authorities reported an unsettling encounter with the Divisional Forest Officer &lpar;DFO&rpar; during discussions about the reserved seat issue&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Allegations of mistreatment during the meeting have strained relations between the park authorities and the forest department&comma; escalating tensions surrounding the closure of the popular elephant safari&period; The sudden discontinuation of the elephant safari has been acknowledged as &&num;8216&semi;unfortunate&&num;8217&semi; for tourists who had planned to visit Kaziranga National Park&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>With this widely sought-after attraction temporarily unavailable&comma; visitors will miss the unique opportunity to explore the park atop elephants—an experience synonymous with the rich biodiversity and cultural significance of Kaziranga&period; The closure of the elephant safari serves as a symbolic protest against the impractical reservation directive&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>National park authorities are urging a constructive dialogue to reach a mutually agreeable solution that addresses concerns raised by both parties&period; Until a resolution is reached&comma; the fate of one of India&&num;8217&semi;s most celebrated wildlife experiences remains uncertain&comma; leaving visitors and wildlife enthusiasts patiently awaiting a positive outcome&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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