Green brakes on tourist hotspots
Posted by barunroy on April 23, 2008
Siliguri, April 22: The new environment directive is expected to cut down on reckless growth of tourist destinations that is threatening to spoil the beauty of north Bengal’s green tracts, foresters believe.
The directive states that all hotels, resorts and even tents for tourists within a kilometre of forest areas will have to apply afresh for the state pollution control board’s permission to continue operations. The PCB will give the permission only after consulting the tourism department. Those within the forest area will have to get the forest department’s approval first.
“Earlier, if anybody owned a plot close to the reserve forests and wanted to build a five star hotel there for instance, we had no law to stop them. At least, now there is a notification and the PCB can withhold permission,” said S.B. Patel, the chief conservator of forests (north Bengal). He said destinations like Lataguri, close to Gorumara National Park, and Lava, one of the entry points to Neora Valley National Park, are becoming crowded by the day (see chart).
“The directive is important as it reminds us of our responsibility to protect forests, which is the main source of tourist attraction,” said Kamal Bhowmik, secretary of the Resort Owners’ Association, Lataguri. “Currently, 24 resorts are operational here while another 12 are under construction. Resorts have also come up in Dhupjhora, Kalamati and Ramsai, located on the northern side of Gorumara.” All these resorts taken together can accommodate around 500 people on a given day. “We are however, keen to protect the environment and discourage polluting forests and use of plastic. The garbage discharged daily is dumped in pits at each of these resorts,” he added.
In Lava near Kalimpong, more than 300 visitors can stay on a single day during the tourist season. “Whenever tourists swarm to a new destination, people come forward and invest in hotels and resorts. These put the forests, if they are located nearby, at stake,” Patel said. “Resorts are coming up in places like Jayanti near Buxa Tiger Reserve and Sandakphu (65km from Darjeeling) and it is time we kept a tab on mushrooming eco-tourism projects.”
In Jayanti, said Tapashi Sengupta of Travellers’ Companion, dustbins and pits are used to collect and dump garbage. “We strictly follow the norms of the forest department,” she said.
Foresters said the garbage accumulated in bungalows owned by the department are carried out of the forests. “The use of plastics is discouraged,” U. Bhattacharya, the chief conservator of forests (wildlife) said over the phone from Calcutta. [The Telegraph]
