Water Tankers To Feed Waterholes In Uttarakhand National Park

Dehradun: Following a long dry winter spell and excessive heat in the month of April, water bodies in Uttarakhand's national parks are on the verge of drying up.

The State Forest Department has taken up the initiative of providing water to the waterholes within the parks to provide some respite to thirsty animals so that they don't stray from their natural habitats.

"Waterholes within National Parks such as Rajaji are drying up due to rising temperatures. The forest department has made provisions where water is being ferried through water tankers to fill these waterholes so that wild animals don't go thirsty," Rajinder Kumar, a government officer, said.

Spread over 820 square kilometres, the Rajaji National Park was established in 1983, and boasts of the highest number of Asiatic elephants as well as over three hundred species of rare birds and as many as 23 species of mammals.

According to the director of Rajaji National Park, Neena Grewal, "There are about 100 waterholes to sustain the animal population of the park."

But alarm bells ring when elephants and other wild animals come out of the Park in search of water risking man-animal conflicts - something the Forest Department wants to avoid at all cost.