The houseboat on a trial run at Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. Telegraph picture

Jorhat, Nov. 5: A three-deck houseboat will carry the hopes of many when it undertakes its maiden voyage on the Brahmaputra tomorrow to explore the rich bio-diversity of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.

The brainchild of two local businessmen, Anupam Goswami and Jatindra Nath Das, the Dibru-Saikhowa Boat Safari seeks to popularise the park among tourists and bring economic gains for local residents in its wake.

“The Dibru-Saikhowa National Park has much to write home about but little has been done to bring in the tourists,” said Goswami. “Ours is a small effort to correct the situation. If our initiative clicks, we are certain others, too, will come forward and that will help in the economic uplift of the area,” he said.

“There is no reason why the area cannot prosper as areas around Kaziranga have, if we all do our bit to make the park a tourist destination,” Gowami said. The houseboat boasts four rooms, a conference hall and a restaurant.

The cruise, about 15-20km, will take the tourists to various areas of the park crisscrossed by the Brahmaputra and its several tributaries and spread across Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. Located in the eastern-most corner of the state, the park is famous for its vibrant wilderness and pristine scenic beauty and is a safe haven for several rare and endangered wild animals.

“Tourist flow to this national park is much less compared to other wildlife habitats in the state... probably the park’s rich bio-diversity has not received the publicity it so rightfully deserves. The facilities for tourists here are also limited,” K.K. Kachari, range officer of the Guijan range of the park, told The Telegraph.

The park, spread over 340 square km, has only two cottages and about five boats, which ferry tourists inside the park through the waterways. Kachari said the introduction of the river cruise would be a big boost to the national park.

Some of the exotic mammalian and avian species found in the park include the clouded leopard, rhesus macaque, slow loris, Royal Bengal tiger, Gangetic dolphin, hoolock gibbon, capped langur, spot-billed pelican, whistling teal, magpie, greater spotted eagle, crested serpent eagle, greater adjutant stork and common pintail.

Eight species of turtles and snakes, two of monitor lizards and 62 different fish species have been also been recorded. A total of 36 mammal species have so far been recorded, of which 12 are listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. A veritable naturalist’s paradise, the park is also a home to more than 350 species of birds, mostly migratory.

Goswami said the cruise would start from Guijan ferry ghat and take tourists around 20km on the Brahmaputra. “There are also facilities for smaller boats to ferry tourists on the smaller tributaries of the river, which lead deep inside the park,” he said.

Jatindra Nath Das said that arrangements have also been made for tourists for trekking inside the park. “Our guides would accompany the interested tourists who want to take a walk inside the park. We will anchor the boat in a suitable location accordingly and allow the tourists to travel inside the park on foot,” he said.