Valmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve in Bihar to be an eco-tourism center

Bihar government plans a number of developmental programs in the Valmiki Nagar of West Champaran district to make it an eco-tourism destination. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar has inaugurated the programme on Sunuday.

200 acres of land has been allotted by the The Water Resources department to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, for developing eco-tourism in Valmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve (VTR).

“There will be a convention center in Valmiki Nagar, where people can hold programmes and also enjoy the natural beauty of the place”, said Nitish Kumar.

“A cabinet meeting will be held to discuss the programme; the timing for which will be decided later. We have already done a lot of developmental activities in Valmiki Nagar area, such as constructing cottages, which are running at full capacity throughout the year and can be booked online,” added the CM.

With the promotion of eco-tourism at VTR, people will become more aware about the forest and the issue of environment.  About 45,000 tourists had visited the VTR till mid-November in 2018 itself, said the minister.

“I hope that the number of tourists will cross over one lakh after the development of eco-tourism in the area,” added the CM

“People have an attraction for VTR as it is a unique place which is surrounded by mountain on one end, while river Gandak is flowing on the other side with the greenery of jungle. There cannot be any other better place than VTR. There is huge potential for eco-tourism in Valmiki Nagar for which the state government is working hard to promote it,” said the CM

Various facilities, including jungle safari and trekking, are already available at VTR. Eco-huts have been inaugurated in the area and revamped the old watch towers.

The total number of tigers was 8 when the Kumar ministry take over the reins in November 2005; now the number of tigers has increased to more than 35. Stating that the green cover area of Bihar was nine per cent after its division, Kumar said it has increased to 15 per cent with the Government’s massive plantation drive during which 22.50 crore saplings were planted.

“Our target is to have 17 per cent of green cover in the State,” he added.