Sultanpur park to open after 18-month gap

The Sultanpur National Park will open on Monday after a gap of around 18 months, since it shut during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, officials of the wildlife department said on Sunday

The Sultanpur National Park will open on Monday after a gap of around 18 months, since it shut during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, officials of the wildlife department said on Sunday.

The Sultanpur National Park supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles. (HT Archive)

An order in this regard was issued by the principal chief conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden on Friday, stating that all national parks in Haryana will be opened for the public from November 1.

“The Sultanpur National Park has been shut for visitors since March 23, 2020, and is being opened after over one and half years, adhering to all Covid-19 safety protocols. To ensure social distancing, a total of 60 people will be allowed to visit per day, with 20 people each allowed with a gap of three hours. The park will remain open from 7am to 4.30pm and will remain closed on Tuesday,” Rajesh Chahal, wildlife inspector, Gurugram, said.

Officials said that visitors will have to compulsorily wear a mask, while temperature checks and sanitisation will be ensured for all visitors.

Officials said that around 5,000-6,000 birds are expected to have visited the national park, which got the Ramsar tag earlier this year. Species like sarus crane, open bill stork, woolly neck stork, spoonbill, crested serpent eagle, booted eagle, short-eared owl, brown hawk owl, cattle egret, herons, swamp hen and Sind sparrow are among the few birds that have already been sighted this year.

In August, the Sultanpur National Park was notified as a Ramsar site — a wetland of international importance — by the Union environment ministry. Officials had then said that this would boost wildlife protection and tourism in the region.

The Sultanpur National Park supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles. The site supports more than 10 globally threatened species, including the endangered Egyptian vulture, steppe eagle, Pallas’s fish eagle, and black-bellied tern.