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Hans India
23-05-2025
- Hans India
Debrigarh best ecotourism destination: Sherpa Kant
Bhubaneswar: India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant hailed Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary as the 'best ecotourism destination' in the country. Kant, a former NITI Aayog CEO, visited Debrigarh on Wednesday and interacted with the forest officer and personnel engaged in the management of the wildlife sanctuary. 'I visited Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary @Debrigarh in Odisha today and was delighted to see the wonderful work done in terms of community participation. This is by far the best example of the local community operating and managing the ecotourism project,' Kant wrote on X, while sharing some pictures of his visit to the sanctuary. Later, he held a meeting with the local administration at Sambalpur. Speaking to reporters in Sambalpur, he said, 'I saw the wonderful work done by the DFO. I have visited all ecotourism projects across India, and Debrigarh is the best project.' The best part of the Debrigarh ecotourism project is the active involvement of the local community, he said. During his visit, Kant interacted with the community members of the Debrigarh ecotourism project and appreciated the model functioning in the wildlife sanctuary. Around 85 forest-dependent families are earning their livelihood from different ecotourism activities. Jungle Safari, Hirakud cruise, trekking, hiking, kayaking, storytelling sessions on wildlife and bird-watching activities are being organised by these community members for tourists, a forest officer said. Besides, 20 cottages for the night stay of tourists are available at Debrigarh, including six stargazing rooms with glass roofs. Each community member working at Debrigarh earns around Rs 13,000-15,000 per month. The officer said 40 per cent of those employed at the ecotourism site are women, and some are even in roles of safari drivers and guides. Habitat management work has strengthened the wildlife population with big herds of Indian Bison being slighted by tourists daily along with sambar, deer and bear. In the financial year 2024-25, Debrigarh earned the highest revenue among the ecotourism sites in Odisha, at Rs 5.11 crore, the officer said. According to ecotourism guidelines, 35 per cent of the revenue is shared among the local community as wages, 25 per cent is utilised for recurring expenses, 10 per cent for infrastructure development, 10 per cent for village development and 20 per cent goes to the corpus fund of the Forest department's wildlife wing for training and capacity building of community members, the officer said. So, 100 per cent of the revenue generated goes back to the community. This makes the local community a major stakeholder in ecotourism which strengthens protection and conservation of forest and wildlife.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Time of India
Leopard alarm in 2 villages as goats, sheep & dogs disappear in Kolhapur
Kolhapur: Residents of Desaiwadi and Khotwadi villages in the district's Panhala tehsil have now written to forest officials here demanding they set up traps for a leopard which the villagers said was responsible for the disappearance of sheep, goats and several dogs from their villagers also warned that they would "lock up" the forest department's office in Panhala if the traps were not set. Desaiwadi and Khotwadi villages are located approximately three kilometres from each Khot, a resident of Khotwadi village, said: "In the last 10 days, the leopard has killed one goat, a sheep, 10 dogs and a calf here and in Desaiwadi. Farm workers are now scared to work the fields. We're unable to harvest ready crops. Because it's the summer, we get electricity to the agriculture pumps only at night, which means farmers have to step out after dark to turn them on." Another villager in Khotwadi, Tanaji Khot, said: "We're already faced with heavy crop losses due to gaurs (Indian Bison). Now, we're worried about the leopard. The forest department should trap it soon. If it fails to do so, we'll lock the door to the Panhala forest department office."Forest Ranger RS Rasal said the department was working to track down the animal. Pugmarks of a leopard were found in the vicinity of the 2 villages, he said.
