Kokrajhar, March 3: Villagers of Manas National Park have proved that where there is a will, there is a way.

Residents of Kokilabari under Bhuyanpara range on the eastern fringe of the park have reconstructed a 40-km stretch of road inside the sanctuary to enable forest personnel to check poaching.

?The concept of people?s participation in the conservation process has definitely made a beginning in Kokilabari, thanks to the initiative taken by the Chapaguri-Kokilabari unit of the All Bodo Students Union (Absu) and a local NGO, the Maozigendri Eastern Manas Eco-Tourism Society,? Manas Tiger Reserve director Abhijit Rabha said.

Rabha said the paving of the Kokilabari-Daimary-Semajhora-Bhutan border road would immensely help the forest staff to communicate.

?Manas has a rich heritage which we are proud of and need to protect. We are doing our bit for development of the Manas National Park along with the park authority,? said Phwjwngsar Narzary, president of the local unit of the Absu.

?We are glad that many youths in the area appreciate our concern for conservation and are coming forward to help,? he added.

President of the local non-governmental organisation, Udang Wary, said a bird-watching centre has been built at Maozigendri to attract tourists. He said Maozigendri is a paradise for bird watchers as all kinds of birds can be seen here.

Applauding the efforts of the local residents, a former secretary of the central forest department, M.K. Ranjit Singh, who visited Manas recently, suggested that local residents be involved in the conservation of the park and given economic benefits so that they ?feel that they own the park?.

A former director of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, V.B. Sawakar, feels that with the local people taking interest in protection of Manas, the park can regain its glory.

The Manas National Park was declared a reserve in 1905, upgraded to a sanctuary in 1928 and to a National Park in 1990.

It was included in the Unesco?s world heritage list in 1985 as a site of outstanding universal value.