Gujarat govt to have more tourims zone and increased permits

Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Jun 18, 2018, 19:02 IST

AHMEDABAD: The state government in order to curb illegal lion show outside the forest area has decided to increase the number of tourist permits and has also decided to have two new tourism zone one in Chital Kuba and another one in Girnar Sanctuary.

Senior officials who were part of the meeting, held on Monday in Gandhinagar, said, “the chief minister Vijay Rupani had a meeting with the senior officials and during the meeting it was decided to increase the number of tourists permit to 150 on regular days and 180 from the existing 150 on weekdays.”

The official said that it was decided that there are three trips during the day in Sasan, the first one at 6am second one at 9am and the third in the afternoon at 3pm. The official said that instead of permitting 30 vehicles at 6am, 9am and 3pm, the department will permit 50 vehicles at one go. Similarly, on weekends the same will be increased from 50 to 60 vehicles.
The officials said that this was being done to ensure that tourist get more permit and hence they stay away from such illegal shows.

Meanwhile it was also decided to carry out a feasibility study for setting up a tourism zone on the lines of Sasan one each at Chital Kuba near Tulsishyam and another one at Girnar. The government has asked the forest department to carry out the study and send a proposal to the government of India for approval at the earliest.

The government has been under pressure after a viral video had exposed how locals and other miscreants harass and exploit the pride of the state of Gujarat, its Asiatic lions. The video not only shows locals insulting the proud animal and teasing it for their entertainment, it also shows glimpses of illegal lion shows that are allegedly conducted by residents of the region.

However, there has been a resistance from the forest department against increasing the number of permits.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/gujarat-govt-to-have-more-tourims-zone-and-increased-permits/articleshow/64636374.cms