Guwahati: Tension prevailed in parts of Kaziranga National Park on Wednesday after forest and police officials prevented local residents from engaging in community fishing during Bhogali or Magh Bihu, citing a Gauhati High Court directive banning such activities within the protected area.
Officials said a group of villagers, including women, had assembled in the Haldibari area under Golaghat district to take part in traditional community fishing associated with the festival.
Forest and police personnel intervened and asked the group to disperse, triggering resistance from the locals, who maintained that the practice was part of their cultural tradition.
The situation escalated as protesters raised slogans and briefly blocked National Highway 37, alleging that police used force to stop the fishing.
Senior police officers later reached the spot and managed to defuse the situation.
Authorities subsequently allowed the villagers to retrieve their fishing nets and equipment from the water bodies.
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The Gauhati High Court had earlier barred fishing in water bodies within Kaziranga National Park during the Bihu festivities, particularly on Uruka, the eve of Bhogali Bihu.
The court observed that such activities violate wildlife protection and forest conservation laws and pose a threat to the park’s fragile ecosystem.
The state government had informed the court last week that district commissioners had issued prohibitory orders to enforce the ban across the protected area.
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve spans Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Biswanath districts of Assam.
