The Maharashtra government is all set to hold a three-day 'Tadoba festival' during November in Mumbai, where it plans to showcase its grand plans of making the tiger sanctuary in Chandrapur district a world class entity.
An official from the state forest department said that during the festival, the government will put forth its idea of upgrading all the six tiger reserves in the state into 'A-plus' category.
"We also plan to build a five-star resort of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) that will cater to the middle class and the upper middle class population who would want to visit the sanctuary," he said.
He added that 100 locals will also be trained as guides and will be taught English, Hindi and Marathi to enable them to converse better with tourists.
The official further said that the government, on the lines of Madhya Pradesh, plans to introduce a full day package especially for photographers and nature enthusiasts for a lump sum amount.
"For now there are two guided tours at a specific time for tourists where we charge a small amount. This tour lasts for about an hour. The MP government generates a good revenue by throwing open their sanctuaries for a full day by charging a lumpsum amount. We too are planning to emulate this technique. For example, if a foreign company wants to photograph or shoot a documentary of tigers for a period of five days, we can earn a good revenue from them," he said.
The official further said that the government also plans to introduce 15 seater open vehicles for tourists, to increase their chances of spotting tigers.
"For now, there are four 5-seater vehicles allowed at a time from one entrance. Thus, only the first two vehicles can spot tigers. The rest usually are not able to see anything. Now with bigger vehicles, more people can enjoy viewing tigers in their natural habitat," he said.
As an added attraction to lure tourists to visit the sanctuary, the government also plans to promote the "five superstar tigers" of the sanctuary.
