Assam government all set to burn 2,479 rhino horns on Wednesday

Assam government will destroy 2479 rhino horns which had been kept at different treasuries of the state since 1979.

Guwahati: BJP led Assam government have drawn up an elaborate plan to burn the rhino horns into ashes by using a special chemical in the presence of common people on Wednesday. The burning will take place at a field in the Bokakhat area near the Kaziranga national park and will be witnessed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

"All the arrangements have been done. We have brought in all the rhino horns here to be burnt on Wednesday. The Chief Minister himself will be present on the occasion," said MK Yadav, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife). He said that the rhino horns will be burnt following some religious rituals and that priests have already reached Bokakhat for the purpose.

Although there is no medicinal value of the rhino horns, which are basically made up of keratin a protein found in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves, hundreds of one-horned rhinos in the protected areas of Assam had been poached over decades for their horns. There is a huge demand for rhino horns particularly for their use in some oriental medicines that can cure some diseases.

During the meeting of the Assam cabinet held on September 16, it was decided to burn the rhino horns stockpiled in different treasury offices in Assam to bust the myth about its medicinal use.

Till 1979, the government used to auction the rhino horns seized from poachers or collected by forest officials after the natural death of the animals. However, after 1980 government discontinued the practice of auctioning horns and instead decided to stock them.

"As of now, there are 2,623 rhino horns stockpiled at different locations in Assam, which have already been examined by an expert committee instituted by the government. Out of the total 2,623 horns, 94 will be preserved for its heritage value and academic purpose while 50 others will be kept in the custody of the government due to some pending court cases," MK Yadav, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Assam said.

Read:Assam to destroy rhino horns stored over four decades