Leopard safari at Jaldapara forest

Kolkata: In a major stride to boost tourism in North Bengal, the state forest department has decided to come up with a state-of-the-art leopard safari under the Jaldapara forest division in Jalpaiguri district. As an added attraction, the forest department will also come up with a deer park on the western side of a stream that flows through the proposed area for the leopard safari.

“We have an animal rescue centre at Dakshin Khayerbari in Jaldapara. However, the rescue centre has lost its charm as most of the animals in the rescue centre have died, mainly due to old age. The leopard safari will be housed on the 23-acre land of the Rescue Centre. We will also develop a deer park on the western side of the river that flows through the project area of Dakshin Khayerbari. Our aim is to develop new tourist destinations without any damage to the greenery of the forest,” Binay Krishna Barman, the state forest minister said.

The survey by the officials of our department is in its final stages, following which the DPR will be prepared. The project will cost around Rs 10 crore. There will also be a Bird Centre in the project area.

The state government is also constructing two bridges to facilitate tourist flow from Dakshin Khayerbari to Jaldapara National Park. “The funds will be allocated from the local MLA fund. The two bridges located in Kunjanagar have been in shambles and only light vehicles could travel over it,” Mr Burman said, adding that the Falakata BDO had already started preparing the DPR for the two bridges that will replace the old ones.

The forest department will soon procure 15 elephants from Karnataka, which will be used for safari inside Jaldapara National Park. “There is a huge demand for elephant safari in Jaldapara. But we have only five to six safaris per day due to non-availability of the jumbos,” a top forest official said.