The officials in the Indian side of the Sundarbans, which see a rush in tourist footfall between November and February, have lined up additional security measures to check accidents. Tourists boats in both the tiger reserve and divisional forests have been asked to tie nylon nets, guarding the open area in the lower deck, so that no tourist falls accidentally into the river.
Speaking to TOI, divisional forest officer of South 24-Parganas forest division, Milan Mandal, said they have issued a notice asking the boat owners to follow the same. A same order has reportedly been issued in the tiger reserve area. More than 200 tourist boats reportedly operate in the Indian Sundarbans.
Financial aid has been allocated for the construction of a Convention Centre in Aizawl, aimed at fostering MICE tourism. Additionally, View Points are being developed along the highways in the North Eastern States to enhance the travel experience, and 15 destinations have been identified for holistic development under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme.
Earlier in 2022, a tourist from Kumargram in Alipurduar was feared drowned in the Gomar River in the Sundarbans. According to the cops, primary investigations had suggested that the tourist, who was in a drunken state,appeared to have fallen into the river near Pakhiralaya in Gosaba amid a deck party with seven friends. The Indian Sundarbans, in the past few years have also seen a spurt in tiger sightings, leading to a rise in tourism activities, particularly by amateur photographers . A tour operator, who also owns a boat, said he was considering to install such a safety net on his boat. “I will keep the holes in the net a little bigger so that photographers don’t face any difficulty while taking photographs in the mangroves,” he added.
