Pobitora wildlife sanctuary

• The Supreme Court froze the Assam government’s move to withdraw a nearly 26-year-old notification constituting the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary.
• The Assam Cabinet had recently withdrawn the notification issued by the State Forest Department in 1998.
  • The government reasoned that declaration of the sanctuary was made without settling the rights of the people living in villages in the area, including Thengabhanga, Murkata and Mayong.
  • The Assam government has established a committee to redraw the boundary of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

ABOUT POBITORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

• Covering an area of 38.81 sq km, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary was notified by the Assam forest department in March 1998.
• Located in the suburbs of the capital city of Guwahati, on the southern bank of Brahmaputra River.
• The Sanctuary consists of the Rajamayong Reserve Forest and Pobitora Reserve Forest.
• According to a census carried out in 2022, the sanctuary has a population of 107 rhinos, which is the highest density of the species in the world.
  • Other species include Asiatic Wild Water Buffaloes, leopards, jungle fowls, Civet cats, Wild boars, Wild Bears and the many species of the bird life both resident and migratory.