Patna: Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who heads the environment and forest department, on Tuesday asked officials concerned to take steps to provide low-cost accommodation and tour facilities for tourists visiting Valmiki Tiger Reserve.

Modi issued the directive while chairing the meeting of VTR conservation trust.

The directive assumes importance as VTR, located in West Champaran district around 290km northwest of Patna, happens to be the only tiger reserve in Bihar and the state has been trying hard to promote eco tourism in the reserve which is home to 31 tigers at present. During Tuesday's meeting, which senior department officials attended, a decision was taken to fill up 43 posts, including that of a manager, accounts officers and other support staff.

Among steps Sushil asked officials to add at VTR was a boat ride on the Gandak, rafting facility and an elephant ride. Six elephants will be brought from Karnataka and eight from the Andamans for this purpose. The environment and forest department is in the process of completing formalities for the transfer.

The VTR administration has arranged for the stay of tourists near the reserve in Valmikinagar, Govardhana and Naurangia in four suites, 10 air-conditioned rooms, six non-AC rooms, six bamboo huts, two tent huts, one tree hut and also a 40-bed dormitory apart from two eco huts. These can accommodate 124 tourists at a time. Five four-wheelers are available to take tourists for a tour of the reserve.

The meeting decided that a corpus fund of Rs 15 crore would be created to make the trust financially independent and set up a local advisory committee which should take feedback from tourists about their experiences in the VTR.