Tadoba safari charges go up

NAGPUR: Tiger darshan in high-end Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur will cost even more as Gypsy Association quietly increased the safari charges by Rs200 from Rs1,800 per trip to Rs2,000. The new charges have come into force from February 5.

Already, two trips to the park with own vehicle costs to Rs5,200 including guide, vehicle, camera, and gate fees. Hiring of Gypsys takes the cost to Rs7,200 per day now. President of Tadoba Gypsy Ecotourism Welfare Society Sanjay Mankar said, "Considering the petrol price hike and refundable deposit of Rs10,000 and Rs1,000 annual fee levied by the park management, we had no option but to hike fare."

Outdated vehicles (Gypsys) have been granted temporary registration till March 2014 after which vehicles registered before 2002 would not be allowed to enter the park. Till now, over 60 vehicles have been registered and 25 new vehicles have been bought.

Regular tourists Sandeep Gujar, Vinit Arora and Varun Thakkar flayed the increase in safari charges saying when 50% of the routes are closed, what are the charges being increased for. "Everyone is thinking about generating money from tigers but tourists facilities are going from bad to worse," they said.