Corbett will implement the new guidelines prescribed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) over the next six months

Following the lifting of ban on tourism activities in tiger reserves by the Supreme Court, the Corbett National Park has unlocked its gates for tourists, just in time for the beginning of the post-monsoon season. And ever since the reopening on October 20, visitors have been trooping in, although the reopening is currently limited to only two of the park’s areas, the Bijrani and Jhirna zones.

C.K. Kavidayal, who is the Deputy Director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve, has told reporters that the park will work towards implementing the new guidelines prescribed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) over the next six months. “The guidelines stated by the Supreme Court for the reopening are being installed and followed. The guidelines are to bring discipline and regulation in tiger tourism, formation of tourism zone, special courses for drivers of tourist vehicles, allowing green gypsies into the forest,” said Kavidayal.

The reopening of the reserve has come as a great relief not just to tourists but more so for the locals who depend entirely on the tourism at the park for their livelihood. According to one estimate, as many as 15,000 people in Ramnagar, the town closest to Corbett are involved in tourist related activities at Corbett and depend on the park for employment. These include guides and those that work in hospitality at the hotels and resorts located in the periphery and buffer areas of the park.

More fortunate than Ranthambore and Kanha National Parks, which have shown a significant decline in the number of tourists, Corbett has managed to recover from the effects of the ban, mostly due to the fact that it has a significantly larger buffer zone. This allows the tourists to still spot tigers in these buffer zones despite the closure of the core areas. Dhikala and a couple of other zones in Corbett are slated to reopen for tourists on November 15.