Important and fruitful: Foresters, cops meet to review one-horned rhino protection in Jalpaiguri
Telegraph | 15 February 2026
Senior foresters and the state police held a coordination meeting regarding the protection of one-horned rhinos at the district police lines in Jalpaiguri on Friday.
Senior officials from both departments reviewed the current security arrangements to strengthen joint conservation strategies in north Bengal.
One-horned rhinos are found in Jalpaiguri's Gorumara National Park and in Alipurduar's Jaldapara National Park. Jaldapara is the species' largest habitat in the state and houses around 350 rhinos.
A source said the divisional forest officers (DFOs) of Jaldapara and Gorumara outlined existing risks, emerging challenges and the current status of anti-poaching operations in a presentation.
Bhaskar JV, the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north), described the meeting as “important and fruitful”.
“Several issues, including rhino protection, were discussed and officials have been directed to intensify patrolling and monitoring across forest areas to prevent any anti-social activities,” he said.
A source said officials also reviewed how coordinated efforts between forest personnel and the police have strengthened anti-poaching measures in recent years.
“They emphasised the need for continued inter-departmental coordination, enhanced intelligence sharing and intensified field surveillance to sustain the positive outcomes and further reinforce wildlife protection,” said a source.
“They noted that the increasing rhino population reflects effective conservation and protection measures in the wild,” the source added.
Parveen Kaswan, the DFO of Jaldapara wildlife division, briefed the gathering about how major rhino poaching gangs in north Bengal have been dismantled.
He noted that no rhino poaching incident has been reported in the region over the past four years.
Kaswan also said that the Jaldapara wildlife division has arrested 130 wildlife and timber smugglers over the last five years, achieving a 72 per cent conviction rate in wildlife-related cases.