Tourists to reserve forests across Bengal to pay extra to avail of various services from September 16

 Rates revised for guides, elephant safari, among others

The entrance to the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Darjeeling district: File picture

TT Bureau, Siliguri/Jalpaiguri/Alipurduar, 14.09.23 : Tourists to reserve forests across Bengal will have to pay extra to avail of various services as the forests reopen for them on September 16.

An order issued by bengal's principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) on September 11 cites revised charges for guides, the elephant safari and others. These will be implemented from September 16.

Like every year, reserve forests in Bengal have been closed to visitors for three months since June 15.

According to the order, the rate for a guide for a group of tourists is now a uniform Rs 350 for all forests of north Bengal, including national parks such as Gorumara and Jaldapara, the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), and the Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary. 

It was anywhere between Rs 250 and Rs 300 earlier. From now on, a guide will be paid Rs 1,300 a day for a group of six tourists trekking to the Neora Valley, the Singalila National Park and the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Earlier, there was no fixed rate for this.

In Jaldapara and the BTR, entry fees are up from Rs 120 to Rs 200 and Rs 120 to Rs 150, respectively, per head.

For the elephant safari, the new rates are Rs 1,000 in Jaldapara and Rs 1,200 in Gorumara. The earlier rates were Rs 900 and Rs 1,020, respectively.