Activists surrounding the Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) in Manipur have now taken up the cudgels to ensure that the government does not shift the proposed heritage park from the approved site.

Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP)

• The KLNP is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur in India.
• It is 40 km2 in area, the only floating park in the world, located in North East India, and an integral part of Loktak Lake.
• The national park is characterized by floating decomposed plant material locally called Phumdi at the south–eastern side of the Loktak Lake, which has been declared a Ramsar site.
• It was created in 1966 as a wildlife sanctuary to preserve the natural habitat of the endangered Eld’s deer.
• In 1977, it was gazetted as national park.

Key faunas

• KLNP is home to the last of the brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii eldii), one of the most endangered deer in the world.
• It is locally called as Sangai.
• The animal is, in fact, in danger of losing its home—most of the phumdis, or floating swamps, are unable to sustain its weight.
• In 1951, it was reported extinct, but British tea planter and naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee rediscovered it in 1953.

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