Wildlife and nature enthusiasts will now have to shell out more for a trip to Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, known primarily for its elephant population.
Not only entry fees, visitors will also have to pay more for booking the guest house and bamboo hut at Makulakocha, the main entry point to the 192sqkm elephant sanctuary. The new charges came into effect from November 10.
The prices have been hiked for the first time in four decades after the sanctuary, situated at the foothills of Dalma, 30km from Jamshedpur, came into existence in 1975.
While normal entry fee for tourists have been raised from Rs 2 per person to Rs 5, school and college students, who venture into the reserve for study on environment conservation, will now have to fork out Rs 40 (per group of 10 students).
Earlier, they were charged just Rs 2 per group. However, no entry fee will be charged from disabled persons.
Similarly, entry charges for buses and trucks have gone up from Rs 200 to Rs 350, mini buses/matadors from Rs 120 to Rs 250 and cars/jeeps from Rs 80 to Rs 150.
Charges for auto-rickshaws, which didn’t come under the ambit of entry fee earlier, is now Rs 100. Entry charges for motorbikes and scooters have been raised from Rs 20 to Rs 50.
For carrying still cameras inside the sanctuary, one has to pay Rs 80 per camera/per day. Earlier, the rate was Rs 50. Videography charges have also been raised from Rs 300 to Rs 500 per day. There is a huge leap in rates — from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 per day — for making feature films inside the scenic sanctuary.
The forest department has also raised the tariff of the bamboo hut and the guest house.
Tourists, who earlier paid Rs 500 per day for staying at the bamboo hut, will now have to shell out double the amount – Rs 1,000. Tariff for the guest house at Makulakocha has gone up from Rs 300 to Rs 500 per day.
“The entry fee as well as other charges have been increased for the first time. This step will help in fetching additional revenue,” Dalma range officer Mangal Kachhap told The Telegraph.
