Not a walk in the park

Sanjay Gandhi National Park bans walking beyond a point to punish littering visitors; will rent out cycles to tourists instead to encourage fitness activities

Visitors will be banned from walking in the area beyond Tumni Pada inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park starting July 1. The decision was taken to put an end to the rampant littering by visitors. Park officials also found that walkers disturbed the wildlife in the area.



Visitors were found to litter the park, which officials found difficult to clean, as the park is spread over a large area. Sometimes, visitors were even found cooking their food inside the park, which not only disturbed animals in the forest but also increased chances of starting a fire in the premises.

Taking serious note about this, the forest department plans to take action against those who do not follow the rules, by fining offenders.

Officials of SGNP, which is divided into the core (restricted) and the tourist zones, will restrict access to visitors to the park beyond Tumni Pada.

Speaking to MiD DAY, Project Head (forest) of BNHS Krishna Tiwari said, "We welcome the move taken by new Chief Forest Conservator of SGNP. The move will not only protect the wildlife from getting disturbed, but will also solve the littering problem to a large extent."

Officials also propose to provide cycles to tourists. They feel that doing so will not only help bring down the pollution level but also encourage fitness activities.

Sources in SGNP told Sunday MiD DAY that the lot of bicycles will reach by the month-end. Plans are afoot to rent out the cycles to tourists and visitors. The rates have not been decided yet. Chief Forest Conservator Sunil Limaye was not available for comment.