Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) is set to get an eco-tourism boost as the management is planning to inaugurate four new gates for tiger safari soon. NNTR, which is notified as the 46th tiger reserve of India, is situated in Gondia and Bhandara districts of Vidarbha. The total area of NNTR is 1894.90 km2, out of which 656.36 km2 comes under core area and the remaining 1241.24 km2 is part of the buffer region. “We are planning to open four new gates -- Pangdi, Jambhdi, Murdoli and Gadegaon Depot -- from the month of May. All the four gates come under buffer region and all these gates are first in buffer area,” Piyusha Jagtap, Field Director,

 

NNTR told ‘The Hitavada’. These four gates will provide relief to wildlife lovers and tourists from long queues on gates for safari. Currently, NNTR has eight gates -- Pitezari, Chorkhamara, Mangezari, Baki, Kholi, Jambhali, Pitambartola and Umarzari -- and these four new gates will help in accelerating tourism in NNTR. “We are planning to allow 10 safari vehicles from these four gates. It will help to ease the burden over remaining eight gates. Out of these four gates, three come in Gondia district and one Gadegaon Depot is in Bhandara district,” Jagtap added. Less population of herbivores in NNTR was due to lack of grasslands.

 

The tiger population was also less in the tiger reserve. Keeping this challenge in mind, the Forest Department released four tigers from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) under tiger translocation project of the State Government. To increase the prey base, Forest Department also translocated 100 Chitals from TATR to NNTR recently. Along with this, the department is planning to translocate 500 more herbivores from Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) soon, informed Jagtap. The new tigers in the reserve raised demand of jungle safari in recent months. To cater the demand in mind, the NNTR management is going to start these four new gates.