File picture of migratory birds swarming a wetland inside Dibru-Saikhowa park. Picture by UB Photos

Dibrugarh, Oct. 27: The recent army operation to flush out Ulfa militants from inside the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park stopped short of derailing the peace process but did have a fallout ? it severely dented the park?s image.

With the park set to open to tourists on November 1, the worried authorities are planning an ?image makeover? to cleanse it of the stigma that it is a ?den for Ulfa militants?.

The park, spread over 765 square km in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts of Upper Assam, was declared a national park only in 1999. Despite being a relatively new tourist spot, Dibru-Saikhowa has been attracting a steady stream of visitors mainly because of its avian treasure, both domestic and migratory.

The army?s controversial Operation Balwan, launched to flush out Ulfa insurgents holed up inside the park, gave it negative publicity.

?We know that national security is paramount, for which we had co-operated with the army during the operation and even evacuated all our forest staff, who were stationed in various camps in the interiors of the park. But we will also have to admit that the entire episode hit us hard in terms of promotion of tourism,? Tinsukia wildlife division divisional forest officer Aniruddha Dey, who is also the DFO of the park, said over phone.

The park, which is also a biosphere reserve, has more than 350 species of grass as well as water fowl, prominent among them being the brahminy duck, bar-headed geese, black-breasted parrot bill, marsh babbler and various species of kingfishers.

Fresh from his tour of the US, Dey plans to put to use some of the knowledge he gathered during his visit to that country.

?During our visit to the US, we had five camps in Washington, Jacksonville, Gamesville, Miami . We had also visited some national parks and had a series of interactions with their experts on various issues, which included park management in the 21st century,? said Dey. He was the lone representative from Assam in the 13-member Indian delegation, which visited the US from September 24 to October 16 under the International Visitors? leadership programme.

What impressed Dey the most were the high-tech interpretation centres at the entrance of every park.

Apart from the normal features, the parks are equipped with a unique machine, which responds with recorded views from people on various issues of nature conservation when a particular number is dialled.

?These machines will give you views of a housewife or a farmer, a restaurant owner or a mechanic. That is what impressed me the most apart from the visitor centres,? Dey said.

He will soon meet the state chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Mohan Chandra Malakar to discuss whether such a model could be installed in the parks of Assam.