Ban on night stay at Corbett Tiger Reserve affects tourism
Tourists visit in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) has declined to more than half after the high court order banning night stay at the forest rest houses and restricted movement of vehicles in the reserve area.
It was in August 10, a division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court had said, “We are of the view that no tourist should be permitted to stay overnight in national parks, protected forests and reserve forests in order to protect wildlife.” In an earlier order the same bench of the court had restricted the number of vehicles entering different zones in the reserve in a day to hundred.
Scores of bookings have been cancelled after the High court order restricting night stay in the forest rest houses in different zones of the reserve including Dhara, Jhirna, Dhela, Bijrani and Dhikala.
“This has caused extensive loss of revenue to the reserve, which is extremely popular among tourists not only from across the country but also from abroad,” said Rahul, Director of CTR.
“The Dhikala zone of the reserve will be open from Thursday, but we could not experience the usual excitement, as there will be no night stay at the forest and the number of Gypsies engaged for safaris in the zone has also been severely restricted,” added Rahul.
Local traders depending on tourism are dismayed with a large number of bookings being cancelled and visitors are seeking other tiger reserves in the country.
“The volume of tourism related business at the reserve has recorded a fall of about 50 to 60 per cent. After the high court ban, around 20 Gypsies only can service in the zone in a day,” said Kiran Sagar, General Manager of a resort in Sitabani, which falls in the buffer zone of Corbett.
Bookings have been cancelled in large numbers and visitors are making a beeline to Ranthambore, Kanha and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves, said Sagar, who is also an enthusiastic bird watcher.
“The state government should file a review petition in the Supreme Court on the ban of night stay in forest rest houses and restriction on the number of vehicles plying on its zones,” opined Satish Chandra Upadhyay, a Retired warden of Corbett, who now runs a homestay facility in Semal Khaliya village.
All the stakeholders are expecting to have an action from the state government to resolve the issue and to reinstate tourism in the tiger reserve.