On Sunday Chhattisgarh opened its doors to visitors in one of the most remote parts of its forest, the Indravati Tiger Reserve in Bastar’s Bijapur district, for the first time in 40 years for any forest region in Chhattisgarh to allow for organised forest tourism.
The transfer is attributed due to Chhattisgarh’s Statehood Day and the security situation which was deteriorating following lowering of the incidence of Left Wing Extremism. This has allowed authorities to reach areas of forest that were inaccessible for several years.
Boost to Eco-Tourism
BJK was one of the districts of Bastar region which was considered as a stronghold of Maoist movement in Chhattisgarh.
The opening of the reserve is a significant step towards fostering eco-tourism and highlighting the biodiversity richness of the region, said OP Yadav, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) of the state of Chhattisgarh.
He further added that the tourism activities should bring souvenirs for local communities and regionalism should be promoted and that there should be localization of the tourism activities in harmony with their benefits.
Home to Diverse Wildlife
The Indravati Tiger Reserve is spread over an area of roughly 2800 sq. km, and has been carved out as a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in 1983. It is the fourth-largest tiger reserve on the Indian subcontinent on the grounds of area.
The reserve supports a population of several species of wild animal such as tiger, leopard, wild buffaloes, guar and chital along with various other animal species.
Wildlife tourism in Chhattisgarh now has a new value addition at an area where people had not even considered to become a tourist destination.
Officials will no doubt be paying special attention to building tourism attractions and conserving the reserve’s biodiversity, and how the local communities profit from it.