Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district will reopen for tourists from October 18, an official said here on Wednesday. The tiger reserve was closed for tourists from June 30 due to the monsoon, the STR official said. According to the notification issued by STR Field Director Prakash Chand Gogineni, a maximum of 60 vehicles will be allowed inside the national park daily.
Maximum 35 vehicles will be allowed from Jashipur checkgate, while 25 vehicles will enter the STR through Pithabata checkgate, Baripada.
Tourists can visit the National Park from the entry point in Jashipur from 5 am to 9 am and the Pithabata entry point in Baripada division from 8 am to 9 am.
The tourists have to leave Simlipal Tiger Reserve through the exit gates by 6 pm on the same day.
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Besides, the tourists can also tour the national park through open jeep safari. Morning time wildlife safari will start from 5:30 am and continue for 5 hours, and evening time wildlife safari will start at 2 pm and end in 4 hours.
As many as 38,483 tourists, including 12 foreigners, visited Simlipal in 2024-25, generating revenue of Rs 4.26 crore, Gogineni said.
Meanwhile, a tiger, T-40, was killed after it was struck by a train while crossing tracks in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, a forest official said on Monday.
The incident occurred on Sunday late at night near the Sindewahi-Alewahi railway crossing when the Gondia-Ballarshah passenger train was passing through the area.
As per the preliminary information, the train hit the big cat, aged around 14, under the Sindewahi forest area, about two km away from the railway station.
The carcass was cremated after postmortem as per NTCA (National Tiger Conservative Authority) guidelines.
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In a separate development, following a complaint by an NGO that Tamil Nadu has contracted an "outside agency" to develop an elephant conservation centre at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has sought a factual status report from the state Forest Department.
A letter dated October 9 from the NTCA southern zone said a representation had been received from a Bengaluru-based NGO alleging that the proposed Ultra-Modern Elephant Conservation cum Environmental Centre at Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve had contracted an outside agency.