Process to open eco-tourism resorts begins

Kolkata: West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) has started the process of opening up its eco-tourism resorts across the state. Five of the resorts have already opened up and the online booking process has been initiated.

All WBFDC resorts across the state have been closed for nearly three months as part of lockdown measures to combat the spread of COVID 19 pandemic.

"We have reviewed the situation of the resorts as they were closed for a long time and have started opening them up gradually. The safety of the tourists have been given topmost priority and all health protocols are being adhered to strictly as they check into our resorts " said S. Sundriyal, Managing Director of WBFDC.

Bookings of WBFDC resorts can only be done through online mode by logging into the website wbfdc.net. The resorts for which booking has been opened includes Garpanchakot in Purulia, Mukutmanipur in Bankura, Lodhashuli and Jhargram in South Bengal and Rasikbil at Cooch Behar in North Bengal.

WBFDC presently runs ecotourism resorts in 19 locations of which 13 are located in North Bengal and six in South Bengal. In north Bengal, WBFDC has nature resorts in Jaldhaka, Murti, Paren, Rasikbil, Suntalekhola, Loleygaon, Lava, Kalimpong, Mongpong, Samsing, Barodabri, Rajabhatkhawa and Lepchajagat while in south Bengal the resorts are located in Garpanchakot, Mukutmanipur, Jhargram, Lodhashuli, Tajpur and Garchumuk.

" There were minor damages mainly to the green cover in some of our resorts with trees uprooting due to the cyclonic storm Amphan that hit the state on May 20. Restoration work has already been taken and thorough sanitisation of all the resorts has been undertaken, " said Rajib Banerjee, state Forest minister.

There are over 70 odd eco tourism centres across the state under the state Forest department which are mostly in North Bengal and in close proximity to the national parks in the state. " There is a blanket ban of three months on tourists starting from June 15 to rule out any possibility of disturbance to the natural habitat of the animals. So we will start opening these centres after September 15, " an official of the state Forest department said.