Officials of the Jaldapara wildlife division of the state forest department have started issuing a "specific" number of passes to all those intending to visit the Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar to stop the unbridled entry of tourists in the reserve forest area.

Located in Madarihat, Jaldapara is the largest habitat of one-horned rhinos in the district. It also has a population of elephants, gaurs (Indian bison), leopards, deer, and some other animals and many bird species.

The department has stopped collecting entry fees and vehicle charges from tourists entering any reserve forest area in Bengal after a recent reprimand from chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“We have stopped selling entry tickets and also not taking any charge from vehicles. Because of this new decision, there was an apprehension that anybody could hire a vehicle and enter the wildlife habitats. To prevent overcrowding, we have decided to issue passes to ensure that only a specific number of vehicles enter the national park area for safari,” said a forester.

On Sunday, the division issued a circular saying that car safari will be allowed six days a week (barring Thursday) in four different schedules from 6am to 5pm. In each trip, 36 persons will be allowed and each vehicle (usually, Maruti Gypsy vehicles are used for safari) can carry a maximum of six tourists.

“Anybody who wants to avail of the safari will have to collect the free passes while furnishing identity proofs. After the passes are issued, the visitor can hire the car and get a guide,” the forester added.

Earlier, the car fare and the guide’s charges were collected at the department’s counter and later paid to the vehicle owner/driver and the guide.

“But from now on, we will not take this responsibility,” he said.

For the car safari, passes will be issued an hour ahead of the safari time. “A person can collect a maximum of six passes by furnishing the identity proofs of all,” said a source.

Those planning to go on an elephant safari can collect the passes for their vehicles (to reach a specified area where pet elephants would carry them) a day before their safari.

“They will have to shell out ₹1,000 per person like earlier for the elephant safari. This fund is used for pet elephant management,” a forest official said.

In Jaldapara, three trips of elephant safari are conducted from 6.30 am to 9.30 pm. While eight persons can travel on each of the first two trips, only four can travel during the third trip.

However, those associated with the tourism industry in the Dooars sounded unhappy.

“It is cumbersome for tourists as they will have to stand in queue to collect the passes and there will be an element of uncertainty as the number of passes is limited for both the safaris. Earlier, they could book online by paying necessary charges and were sure to get their safari experience,” said Biplab Dey, the joint secretary of the Dooars Tourism Development Welfare Association.

A resort owner in Madarihat said the department did not have any other option after Mamata expressed her annoyance over the entry fees.

“However, we feel that the department should slash the entry fee instead of waiving it completely,” he said.

“Uncertainty over passes may discourage tourists from visiting this region,” the resort owner added.

Like Jaldapara, the Gorumara wildlife division — Gorumara National Park and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary are located under this division — has also started issuing tokens to visitors from the ticket counter in Lataguri.

“We have to do it or else, there will be no check in the entry of people into the forest and no record of how many tourists visited the national park,” said an official.