Elephant, jeep safaris at Kaziranga to close for tourists from May

Guwahati, April 26 (IANS) Elephant and jeep safaris for tourists at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam will be closed to tourists for this season from May onwards, officials said on Wednesday.

An official notification of the eastern Assam wildlife division mentioned that while elephant safaris will remain closed from May 1, jeep safaris can continue till May 15.

Ramesh Gogoi, Divisional Forest Officer of the eastern wildlife division, told IANS: "Summer has already commenced here and usually the occurrence of pre-monsoon floods starts in Kaziranga from May. In view of this, we have decided to shut down the park for tourists from next month."

Earlier, the Unesco World Heritage Site used to remain closed for tourists between April to October.

Safaris usually resume in November.

Last year however, there was a departure from that usual schedule and the park had opened for tourists in October.

"Actually we face high demands of tourists and depending on that we have to tweak the park opening and closing timing. This year also the park may be opened early but it will also depend on the weather situation," Gogoi added.

Annual flooding is a major concern in the Kaziranga National Park.