A cottage by the hills may be every urbanite's dream. Reality isn't too far, going by what one sees on the foothills of scenic Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary.
Four air-conditioned cottages, open to visitors from last October, were formally inaugurated on Thursday at Makulakocha village, the entry point to the sprawling 192sqkm elephant sanctuary, about 25km from Jamshedpur.
Principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) B.C. Nigam formally unveiled the plaque in the presence of a host of forest department officials, including some posted at Dalma. Nigam cut the ceremonial ribbon to inaugurate cottages and an AC cafeteria and flagged off Dalma Eco Van, a bus for tourists.
PCCF (wildlife) Pradip Kumar, chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Rajiv Ranjan, regional chief conservator of forests (Bokaro) Kirti Singh, his Jamshedpur counterpart Nand Kuliar, Dalma divisional forest officer Kamlesh Pandey and range officer R.P. Singh were among those present.
The four AC cottages, each of which has a TV in the bedroom, a contemporary kitchen and a toilet, coming for an affordable Rs 1,100 per night.
"The tariff is Rs 1,000 for each cottage but we are charging Rs 100 for maintenance," Dalma DFO Pandey said.
Cottages have verandas where one can relax over tea or coffee, read books or sigh over the emerald landscape. A deer park nearby is an added attraction.
If one doesn't want to cook, one can order in lip-smacking veg and non-veg delicacies.
Dalma Eco Van, a 25-seater bus with tickets priced at Rs 100 per head, will take tourists on a trip around the sanctuary.
The facility is being called Wildlife Education and Research Unit as they also plan to educate tourists on the subject. The Rs 52-lakh-project has been executed by the state forest department and is sponsored by Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority under Union ministry of environment and forests.
An insider said the facility was awaiting inauguration since last year but the forest department couldn't get a date from the chief minister's office. Tourist demand forced Dalma authorities to throw open the cottages last year.
