The vehicles carrying the tourists near Jaldapara watchtower. (Anirban Choudhury)

Alipurduar, Nov. 7: The car safaris introduced for tourists to watch animals at close range in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary are now proving to be harming the wildlife habitat.

As a result, the number of animals spotted during the rides on a 3km road to Jaldapara watchtower has come down and the forest department is planning the development of alternative spots to take visitors.

In 2002, when the safaris were introduced, the tourists could spot five to six rhinos and many deer, peacocks and bison roaming in the habit.

“But today, we can hardly see any rhino. The visitors have to be satisfied with a few deer and peacocks, the number of which has also come down,” said Shibnath Saha, who takes the visitors on a Gypsy for the rides.

Saha said the tourists would not heed his pleas to keep silent when they saw the animals.

Although different kinds of vehicles were used initially, in 2005, the foresters decided to ply only Gypsy for the safety and security of the tourists. Fifteen cars are used now.

The rides, which are part of the forest department’s eco-tourism programme, provide income to many families. The vehicles are owned and driven by private individuals and Saha is one of them.

The foresters attributed the decline in the number of animals spotted near the road to the pollution caused by the cars.

“There is no doubt that the sound of the cars and the smoke they emit drive away the animals,” said Ujjwal Ghosh, the DFO of wildlife-III division.

“But at the same time, we cannot scarp the rides altogether as they were introduced as part of eco-tourism. Many families depend on it for income,” the officer said.

Ghosh said the department was trying to dig up pits near the Harindanga watchtower. “We will fill these pits with salt to attract the animals. If the mission is successful, we may stop the safaris on the Jaldapara watchtower road because we want to avoid any disturbances to the habitat of the animals.”

The forest department has plans to develop eco-tourism spots in other forests like Mendabari, Chilapata, Kodal Basti and Lankapara to ease the pressure on Jaldapara, he said.