With a budgetary allocation of Rs25 crore and financial assistance of Rs50 crore from the central government, the state forest department plans to promote tiger tourism in Vidarbha. The department has put together a plan to double the number of tourists visiting tiger reserves in Vidarbha in the near future.
Even before Union forest minister Jairam Ramesh announced plans to promote Nagpur as a ‘tiger gateway’, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had directed the finance department to provide additional funding for promotions.
With three notified tiger reserves in Vidarbha, the department identified a potential for tiger promotion. Ramesh announced a financial aid of Rs50 crore for the rehabilitation of nearly 25 hamlets and villages in Tadoba and Melghat reserves.
“The budgetary allocation this year was unprecedented. With the allocation of Rs50crore, we can now plan capacity expansion, promotion of domestic tourism facilities and packages for circuit trips to various tiger reserves. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and Forest Development Corporation Limited also have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote forest tourism. We may join hands for some projects,” an official said.
The Tadoba tiger reserve is the most popular among tourists with 1 lakh tourist footfalls last year. The number was merely 35,000 in 2003-04. The other reserves, Melghat and Pench, have also witnessed a rise in the number of tourists in the last few years.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_vidarbha-to-be-tiger-tourism-hub_1546774
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Govt working on Kudremukh tiger reserve project proposal, Soumita Majumdar
It’s official. The Union government has granted in-principle approval for constituting the Kudremukh National Park as a tiger reserve. Informing the state government of the approval, the deputy inspector general of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), under the Union ministry of environment and forests, has asked the chief wildlife warden of Karnataka to submit a detailed proposal in this regard at the earliest.
Kudremukh will be the sixth tiger reserve in the state and the 41st in the country. The state wildlife authorities have already begun working on the proposal, which has been sought under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
“Earlier, Kudremukh was a national park. Now that it has become a tiger reserve, some development activities need to be taken up. Unlike a national park scenario, now the entire forest has to be bifurcated into core and buffer areas. And tourism can be allowed only in the buffer areas,” said MH Swaminath, principal chief conservator of forest, Government of Karnataka.
The wildlife density is already good in Kudremukh park, that falls in Chikmagalur district. With the park turning into a tiger reserve, the potential is high, said sources from the wildlife department. The various species spotted in the Kudremukh National Park include macaque, langur, slender loris, squirrel, porcupine, black-naped hare, elephant, gaur, sambar, spotted dear, wild boar, pangolin, leopard, jungle cat, malabar civet, hyena, jackal, fox, sloth bear and otter.
The core area inside the forest, that will be off-limits for any kind of tourism, human habitat or intervention, will comprise 600.32 sq kms of area.
“As of now, there are about 6,244 people residing in this area. However, these families are ready to go out if they are paid suitable compensation as decided by the revenue authority,” said a source.
About 168 sq kms of area has been proposed to be kept as buffer area. This area is inhabited by a population of 5,816 people.
According to the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, a survey of meta population by DNA analysis of carnivores has established that Kudremukh National Park is home to about eight tigers.
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_govt-working-on-kudremukh-tiger-reserve-project-proposal_1546800
Kudremukh will be the sixth tiger reserve in the state and the 41st in the country. The state wildlife authorities have already begun working on the proposal, which has been sought under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
“Earlier, Kudremukh was a national park. Now that it has become a tiger reserve, some development activities need to be taken up. Unlike a national park scenario, now the entire forest has to be bifurcated into core and buffer areas. And tourism can be allowed only in the buffer areas,” said MH Swaminath, principal chief conservator of forest, Government of Karnataka.
The wildlife density is already good in Kudremukh park, that falls in Chikmagalur district. With the park turning into a tiger reserve, the potential is high, said sources from the wildlife department. The various species spotted in the Kudremukh National Park include macaque, langur, slender loris, squirrel, porcupine, black-naped hare, elephant, gaur, sambar, spotted dear, wild boar, pangolin, leopard, jungle cat, malabar civet, hyena, jackal, fox, sloth bear and otter.
The core area inside the forest, that will be off-limits for any kind of tourism, human habitat or intervention, will comprise 600.32 sq kms of area.
“As of now, there are about 6,244 people residing in this area. However, these families are ready to go out if they are paid suitable compensation as decided by the revenue authority,” said a source.
About 168 sq kms of area has been proposed to be kept as buffer area. This area is inhabited by a population of 5,816 people.
According to the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, a survey of meta population by DNA analysis of carnivores has established that Kudremukh National Park is home to about eight tigers.
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_govt-working-on-kudremukh-tiger-reserve-project-proposal_1546800
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