BENGALURU : The proposal of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve management to start a safari in Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary has been stalled. The safari, scheduled to start on October 30, has been put on hold as Ajai Misra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Sandeep Dave, Forests, environment and ecology, issued orders not to start the safari till they examine the project in detail. They also directed the field staff to send the file to Bengaluru immediately.
Even as the plan was being discussed and finalised, pamphlets of the sanctuary opening up for tourists from October 30 along with timings and charges were circulated on social media. According to the pamphlets, the first batch will be allowed from 7.30 am to 8.30 am and the second batch from 8.30 am to 10 am. Also from 3pm to 5pm for the first batch and from 5pm to 6.30 pm for the second batch.
The pamphlets also stated that safari charges will be `350 per person and camera charges additional. For children up to 10 years, the charges will be `175 for safari, school and college students will have to pay 50 per cent of the ticket charge. Nugu was declared a sanctuary on March 9, 1998 and comes under the administration of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
T Balachandra, Director, BTR, told The New Indian Express that the safari was planned on a trial basis only to know the ground situation. “No official pamphlet or promotion was done. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has to approve it. Nugu is not included in Bandipur’s safari zone at the moment,” he said. However, conservationists and wildlife experts are not keen on the safari opening at all.
They point out that Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the notified buffer zone of BTR since 2010 and part of the eco sensitive zone since 2012 and that as per NTCA and SC orders, safaris are not permitted there. “One more safari zone means one more front is exposed. This will surely lead to related commercial activities and increased human activities which are clearly prohibited in ESZ notification. The CWW should not permit it. And it is against the Supreme Court Directives in 2012,” a former forest official said.