HAZARIBAGH: Hills are alive, again

Ranchi, August 8: A tiger and deer safari and lots more will soon be introduced at the foothills of the famous Canary hills in Hazaribagh to make it a tourist hub.

This will be the first jungle safari in the state and will house seven to eight tigers. Plans are afoot to import the big cats from the Kanha National park in Orissa and Shakargarh Park in Gujarat.

As for deer, there are adequate numbers in the state’s forests. Some more would be brought from Kalamati and housed at the park.

The central zoo authority has already given its consent to the project estimated to cost about Rs 6 crore. It has suggested the state authorities take prior permission from the state wildlife board and then submit a final proposal for their approval.

In fact, the board was to decide on the plan last week but its meeting was postponed at the last moment.

The Canary hills and the surrounding forests have a special place in the annals of Hazaribagh ever since it was developed as a jungle resort for the colonial officers and the “boxwallahs” from Calcutta in the pre-independence era.

While granting permission for transferring forest land for the railways to lay tracks, the Centre had imposed a condition that a project be developed for the conservation and development of the plant and animal life of the are.

It was in this background that that the Hazaribagh west and east forest divisions, together with the railways, prepared a detailed project report for the proposed tiger and deer safari in the Canary forests of Hazaribagh.

The proposed tiger safari, a feather in the cap of state tourism once set up, would also help rehabilitate tigers in the forest area.

Asked how long it would take, chief of wild life warden A.K Singh said once the project was approved, they would move quickly to launch the safaris at the earliest.

However, Singh explained that the project was likely to be cleared by the state wildlife board within two months. Thereafter, it will take two years to complete.