Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Jan 22, 2018, 17:00 ISTAHMEDABAD: Gujarat tourism department has revised its advisory asking tourists to hire private guides and transporters for spending the night at Kankai Mataji temple deep within Gir forest. However, the department has now clarified that only 50 'devotees' (people whose 'kul devi' is Kankai Mataji) can stay overnight in the temple. Earlier, it had invited all tourists to have a night stay at Kankai.
On January 19, the Times of India had carried a report titled, "At
Kankai, govt goes against own rule." The report had revealed how the
state tourism department had been ignoring its own forest laws and
allowing numerous tourists to halt at night in the Kankai temple located
in the heart of Gir sanctuary. Under the rules, the forest department
can allow night stay to not more than 50 devotees at a time.
In September 2017, the Gujarat government had issued a notification
allowing 50 devotees (only for rituals) to stay overnight at Kankai
Mataji temple in the Gir forests. However, the Gujarat tourism website
continued to invite all tourists, 'advising' them to stay overnight and
that too by hiring a private transporters. The Kankai temple page on the
website said 50 km from Sasan Gir, there is a shrine to Kankai Mata, the protector of the shepherds of Gir forest.
However, the tourism department has now drastically changed all the
information earlier available on its portal. Its website (which was
corrected on Saturday) states: "In the heart of the jungle, 25 km from
Sasan Gir, there is a shrine to Kankai Mata, the benefactor of the
shepherds of Gir forest. A supremely wild place, here you can hear lions
roar at night and animals gathering at the nearby lake. The Forest
Department allows devotees; no more than 50 at a time, for night stay."
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/kankai-webpage-revised-no-word-on-private-guides/articleshow/62604969.cms
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