File picture of wooden containers used to translocate rhinos

Guwahati, March 9: The Assam forest department may have to wait to execute the second phase of the rhino translocation programme with several factors coming in its way.

The forest department had chosen to translocate the rhinos in March, but with elections and infrastructure problems, it may have to wait till November.

“We are trying our best to execute the programme as early as possible, but certain factors are coming in our way. We want to see the programme being carried out safely as even one blemish will boomerang on us,” the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden, M.C. Malakar, said.

A meeting of the rhino translocation core committee was held here on Friday, but it did not specify a date on the translocation programme.

The department is under tremendous pressure to execute the programme as time is running out, but it faces several problems.

For one, it has failed to acquire import licence for Immobilon — a tranquillising drug injected into rhinos and elephants during translocation. At present, only Orissa’s Nandan Kannan zoo has the licence to import this drug.

Election is another factor impeding the programme, as security forces will have to be deployed all over the state. “The police have assured us (of support) but they could be deployed elsewhere during the polls,” the official said.

Infrastructure, like fencing of the southern boundary of Manas National Park where the rhinos will be translocated, also needs to be looked into.

A translocated rhino, which had strayed out of the park last year, had put the authorities in a fix. They had to galvanise forces to find the rhino, which had strayed nearly 65km away.

The authorities plan to put up an electric fence to prevent animals from straying out of the park and the work on the project will start soon.

Rhinos in Assam are picked up from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park — the only source populations in the state for translocation.

Implemented by the forest department, the India Rhino Vision 2020 programme has the support of various groups, including the WWF (India) and the WWF AREAS programme.