Agartala: A bison reserve will soon come up in the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary to preserve and protect the endangered species.
A reserve area of 12.93 square kilometers has been earmarked in the sanctuary and the authorities are waiting for the legal procedures to complete, Trishna Wild Life Warden Pritam Bhattacharjee said.
"The endangered animal, locally known as Gaba or Gau, needs to be protected," Bhattacharya said. The reserve falls in the Jagannath Dighi Reserve Forest area which includes - Siddhinagar, Uttar Srirampur, Bhairabnagar and Kamalpur - where the Forest Department has started initial work.
"We are cultivating grass in major habitats of bison in the Trishna core area as well as the proposed site for the reserve. We have started plantation of one species of bamboo, Oxtenanthera Nigrocilliate locally known as Kaillai, which is a favorite food of bison," the wildlife warden said.
The Forest Department has undertaken a number of initiatives in the core area which include setting up of a grazing land, installation of six watch towers and five lightning conductors.
Officials said the bison population has registered a rise in the last couple of years after the Indo-Bangla border, adjoining the sanctuary, was ringed with barbed wire fencing.