KOKRAJHAR, March 11: There is abundant forest wealth in the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) in terms of the variety of flora and fauna. The forest areas of BTAD cover 3,35,994.95 hectares or 3,539.95 sq. km. Most of the forests are located along the international border, i.e. Assam-Bhutan border. The entire northern belt of forest is situated in sub-Himalayan alluvial tract of a typical formation known as "Bhabar tract".
The forests in BTAD, right from Jounduar along the Assam-West Bengal border to Orang or Dhansiri Forest Division, are full of various wild animals, valuable trees and other unexplored species. The Forest Department of BTAD has taken up a number of measures to preserve and protect the forest resources. Many schemes have been taken up for infrastructure development. The Manas National Park, which is also known for its Project Tiger and as a world heritage site and the Orang National Park, the home for the world famous one-horned rhinoceros, has been given special importance for promotion of tourism in the area.
The Sikhnajhar and Nabhandar, inside the dense forest of Chirang reserve forest in the foothills of Bhutan, have also been taken up by the BTC for infrastructure development.
Likewise, the Chokrasila Wildlife Sanctuary near Kokrajhar, a newly-declared sanctuary, is now waiting for its infrastructure development. Chokrasila, which is known as Sikri-Sikla locally, covers an area of 45.58 sq. km and is a habitat of the endangered golden langur. It was declared a reserve forest in 1966 and declared a wildlife sanctuary on July 14, 1994. This sanctuary is a hilly tract. Some of the important sites of the park are Sikri-Sikla, Baokhungri — a pair of natural holes, a 149-feet peak, Dibil Peak, Dangdufur Peak, Antai Gufur, Gossia Bhita, Jou Nagar, Dheerbil, Diplaibil, Dakrabil. Besides the golden langur, there are lots of deer, pythons and other reptiles and a variety of birds in it.
The sanctuary has a tourist house at Chokrasila which is situated at about 5 to 6 km from Kokrajhar town.
Most importantly, the need of the hour is to improve the sanctuary’s infrastructure. It needs improvement of road communication, anti-poaching camps and a watch point, etc. Chokrasila could be made into one of the most important tourist spots in the region. High flow of foreign or domestic tourists can be expected if the infrastructure is developed properly.
