Karnataka’s ‘tiger tourism’ plan only for the rich?

Soon, wildlife lovers may have to shell out exorbitant prices for a safari inside the Tiger Reserve as the department is planning to shift the tourism sector to state-owned Jungle Lodges and Resorts Group.

A fortnight ago, an order was passed from the office of the Wildlife Wing of the Department, stating that the safari trips will be run by JLR at Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. The JLR has a safari unit at Kabini area of the Reserve, and are now planning to expand their safari network in Nagarhole Range Tourism zone too.

This has created an uproar as the conservationists feel the move could keep students and the not-so-well-off wildlife lovers away as the safari charges will be significantly increased.

In contrast, the Forest Department-run buses charge Rs. 300 for an hour-long safari per person, while the jeeps operated by the JLR charge Rs. 1,500-Rs 2,000 per person for 2 hours. Recently the department has announced that it will be levying extra charges for cameras and videos, which will further escalate the safari fee.

On the other hand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu forests, which provide similar wildlife sightings, charge less than Rs. 100 for an hour’s safari drive.

Several tourists visiting Bandipur, prefer going for a safari in Masinagudi in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, tourists from Nagarhole prefer to go to Tolpatti in Kerala, where Rs. 150 is charged for safari trips.

The conservationists feel that the handing over of safari trips in Nagarhole to JLR, could be part of larger plans to hand over all tourism operations to the JLR Corporation. Talks were also under way to hand over some old forest rest houses, located deep in Nagarhole, Bandipur and JLR, but so far there are no orders on that issue.

“The tourism entities including the JLR never had any role in conservation of tiger reserves. It’s because of the hard work of the Forest Department staff and the cooperation of local communities that wildlife is thriving in the Nagarhole Reserve. So what moral right does the Department have to keep the poor away from taking a safari in the Tiger regions?

A few years ago, a safari bus was run by the Department for common people in the Kabini reserve, but the safari was cancelled in a few months,” says a wildlife conservationist.

“There are a number of flaws in the way tiger tourism is organized in Karnataka. The Bandipur Tiger Reserve officials use vehicles belonging to resorts located in Bandipur for the safari trips. The officials claim that they only rent out the vehicles as they lack jeeps to cater to the growing number of tourists at Bandipur. But the courts have restricted the number of tourists and types of vehicles to be used, and in this case JLR, must adhere to that stipulation in the interest of wildlife. We cannot afford to lose tigers and wildlife in the name of tourism,” the conservationist concludes.