The prestigious Jim Corbett National Park is celebrating its platinum jubilee this year. Round the year celebrations will conclude on November 15 with a cultural programme in Ramnagar, along with opening of gates for tourists.
Established on August 8, 1936, the park has completed its 75 years. Popularly known as Corbett Tiger Reserve, the park has recorded highest density of tiger population in the country.
Talking about the achievements of CTR, Ranjan K. Mishra, director, told Hindustan Times, “It’s indeed a great achievement for both the park as well as the administration and its staff. We organised various programmes round the year and the celebration on November 15 will include the concluding ceremony along with opening of CTR for tourists.”
During the year, the chiefminister inauguarted a tourism centre in Kotdwar in January. Besides, green Gypsies were started for tourists, park visits were organised, workshops and meetings on tiger conservation were held and beautification of various gates was also done.
Spread in an area of 1288.31 sq km, Corbett not only holds a thriving and viable population of tigers but also is a custodian of the floral and faunal diversity of Terai-Bhabar landscape. Corbett has 55 species of mammals, 33 species of aquatic fauna and around 685 species of birds. The people of this area and the staff of Corbett Tiger Reserve have played a key role in the protection of this natural heritage.
The local people, even after huge loss of life and property, are supportive to the cause of conservation. At the same time, the staff of Tiger Reserve is dedicated to protection in the remote and inaccessible areas.
Needless to mention, tourism is the backbone of the national park along with the adjoining areas. Statistics reveal that in 2000-2001, the park received more than 62,000 tourists. However, this number has gone up and more than 1.89 lakh tourists visited the park in 2010-2011. The national park obviously collected huge revenue.
The park has total five tourists zone. In addition, 200 local youths are working under “Operation Lords’ scheme to protect tigers against poaching in the ‘buffer areas’. Sixty ex-army personnel are employed under “Tiger Protection Force’ to augment departmental staff for protection of the tiger and its habitat.
