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Shimla, Dec. 20: The Great Himalayan National Park, 270km from here, may find mention in the Unesco’s World Heritage Site as the nomination of the same has been accepted by the committee.
An evaluation process is likely to take place early next year and if the decision is approved, the park will become the second heritage site in the state after the Kalka-Shimla rail link.
“Unesco has accepted the nomination for the Great Himalayan National Park and the evaluation process will take place early next year,” chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumnal said.
Spread over an area of 754sqkm, the national park located in Kullu district is covered by temperate and alpine forests of Himachal Pradesh.
The park has some of the virgin coniferous forests of the state, and vast areas of alpine pastures and glaciers cap the park. The area has many important wildlife species like musk deer, brown bear, goral, thar, leopard, snow leopard, etc,.bharal, serow, monal, kalij, koklas, cheer, tragopan and snow cock
“We want to make Himachal Pradesh a safe haven for flora and fauna. We will deploy trained staff in the wildlife wing and will strike a balance between development and nature so that both could benefit equally,” Dhumal said.
Himachal Pradesh has 33 wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks spread over an area of 7,161km.
The Kalka-Shimla Railway was included in the Unesco World Heritage List on July 7, 2008 as part of the Mountain Railways of India.
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