Six new ecotourism hubs to lure visitors to Satkosia

Bhubaneswar: Six new ecotourism destinations at Satkosia Tiger Reserve’s two divisions — Mahanadi and Satkosia — will soon give a roaring welcome to big cat lovers.

The integrated ecotourism project will see entry points of the two wildlife divisions developed into educative interpretation centres, arrival plazas, rest rooms and canteens for day tourists. The six sites will be developed under the Centre’s Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment, forest department officials said.

Of six sites, two (Chhamundia and Kusang) are located in the Mahanadi division, while four (Purunakote, Jagannathpur, Baliput and Tikarpada) are located in Satkosia division.

“A lot of emphasis is being laid on arrival plazas, just at the entry gates to the sanctuaries, to facilitate rest to visitors and offering them an overview of the place. The plazas will have an interpretation with pictures and video, knowledge centres that will provide detailed facts about the sanctuary. There will be a cafeteria too,” said DFO (Mahanadi division) Amaresh Pradhan.

Separate facilities will aim to raise awareness among students, besides constructing rest, safari and amenity centres. “Both the divisions are separated by Mahanadi Gorge, a 21-km-long gorge where fishing has been banned for safety of gharials. We have boating facilities in both divisions. New ecotourism centres will offer visitors the best view of the river and nature from both sides. We will have riverside dining also for day visitors,” Pradhan added.

Satkosia reserve, like Similipal Tiger Reserve and Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, will be made the most sought-after one with fresh introduction of tigers. Two villages, Kuturi and Maraguda, will be relocated from the core area of Mahanadi division, when people give their consent, after which the forest will be inviolate, officials said.

In 2024, an expert committee of National Tiger Conservation Authority approved resumption of tiger translocation project in Satkosia. In 2018, a bid to recover the big cat population there failed. After the NTCA team’s visit to study feasibility for resuming the translocation exercise, the approval was accorded with 15-point measures to be taken before tigers are brought. At present, there is no tiger in any division of Satkosia reserve.



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