Video: Rhino hit by truck in Assam, driver fined after CM Himanta Sarma's tweet

A truck has been fined after it hit a rhinoceros on a highway in the Kaziranga National Park area in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday, stressing that his government will not allow infringement on their space.

He also shared CCTV footage of the incident on National Highway 37, saying that his government was working on an elevated corridor to address such accidents.

Rhinos are our special friends well not allow any infringement on their space.

In this unfortunate incident at Haldibari the Rhino survived; vehicle intercepted  fined. Meanwhile in our resolve to save animals at Kaziranga we’re working on a special 32 km elevated corridor. pic.twitter.com/z2aOPKgHsx — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 9, 2022

In the 10-second video, a rhinoceros was seen hit by a truck after it suddenly came onto the highway. After being hit, the rhino tried to get up but stumbled and fell down. A while later, it managed to get up again and limp back to the forest.

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"Rhinos are our special friends; we'll not allow any infringement on their space," he tweeted. "In this unfortunate incident at Haldibari the Rhino survived; vehicle intercepted & fined. Meanwhile in our resolve to save animals at Kaziranga we're working on a special 32-km elevated corridor," he added.

The speed limit at the Haldibari corridor, where the incident happened, is 40 km per hour but the truck was speeding at 52 km per hour, a forest official said. The elevated corridor will be built from Jakhalabandha to Bokakhat for protecting wildlife and promoting tourism at the park, officials said.

(With inputs from PTI)