Madhya Pradesh reopens national parks from today

National parks in Madhya Pradesh reopened their doors to visitors from today. The Madhya Pradesh state government made this announcement recently, but reiterated that the parks will need to follow Centre’s guidelines in the wake of the Coronavirus crisis.

Reports state that the forest department has also issued a circular regarding reopening of National Parks from June 15, and the parks' buffer zone will remain open during monsoon season. The same was conveyed by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board in a statement.Also, the state government has resumed operations of its Tourism Development Corporation hotels, many private resorts and properties at tourist hotspots. Referring to this development, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) Additional Managing Director Sonia Meena stated that their promotions for inbound tourism are very strong and wildlife is one of their most popular avenues, and that reopening of tourist hotspots would give people a sense of returning to normalcy.
The MPTB official also added that they see great potential in reopening tourist hotspots, including pilgrimage, heritage, wildlife, leisure and adventure tourism opportunities. He maintained that they are also maintaining all hygiene and social-distancing norms and SOP that has been issued by the Ministry of Tourism. She stated following all the safety and hygiene instructions, the tourism board have sanitised the premises of tourist destinations in line with the guidelines given by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Apart from Madhya Pradesh, several other states, such as Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand have started to reopen tourist hotspots, as most of them are coming out of the lockdown in a phased manner.