Bhitarkanika To Be Reopened For Tourists Tomorrow

Photograph: Suprakash Mishra

Kendrapara: After remaining closed for three months from May 1 in view of the breeding season of the saltwater crocodiles, the Bhitarkanika National Park will be reopened for tourists from Wednesday.

“Arrangements have been made to reopen the park on August 1. This year, we have made extra arrangements for the tourists by operationalising eight cottages at Dangamal for night halt inside the park,” Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Rajnagar Wildlife Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya, told mediapersons here.

He said the Forest department had taken the decision to close down the National Park or the safety of the tourists and visitors as the saltwater crocodiles tend to get very aggressive during the breeding season and attack people without provocation.

The DFO said as per the annual census conducted in January 2016, the population of the saltwater crocodile in Bhitarkanika had gone up to 1671.

“Last year, we had identified 80 nesting sites of the estuarine crocodile inside Bhitarkanika. The number has gone up to 101 this year,” Acharya said.

He said of the 101 nesting sites, 84 have been found in Kanika Wildlife Range, 13 in Rajnagar, 3 in Gahirmatha and 1 in Mahakalapada range.