Another 200 staff is likely to be added to the Park after

the new divisions are created, Hussain said. He, however, refused to provide details regarding current staff strength by citing security issues. Hussain said the state Home department has already got in touch with the Union Home Ministry regarding allotment of sophisticated arms like AK series rifles and ball ammunition. "As soon as the sanction comes, we will get them from the Defence Ministry's Ordnance factories," he said. The minister said 200 additional Home Guards have been deployed in the park in recent times and 200 SLR rifles have been sent to the place for anti-poaching operations. "Assam is the only state where forest personnel have been given power to use such sophisticated arms against poachers," he said. He said the Forest Department is working to have all the additional land area brought under the KNP designated as forest land. While KNP originally had a notified area of 430 sq km, there were six "additions" over the years. "The first addition of 43.78 sq km has been fully notified and so also the fourth addition of 0.89 sq km. The notification for the sixth addition of 410.5 sq km, including the water in river Brahmaputra, has been partially carried out," Hussain said. However, for the second addition of 6.4 sq km, third addition of 0.69 sq km and fifth addition of 1.15 sq km, there has been no progress in notification of land. "We are working to complete the handing over of the lands," Hussain said.