Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary to open from November 15 now

Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary was supposed to open to tourists on November 1, but due to badly damaged roads and flooding that hadn’t yet receded completely, it will now open on November 15.

Release of water from Nepal reservoirs and heavy rain in the third week of October has forced the forest authorities to reschedule opening of the Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) located on the Indo-Nepal border. The sanctuary will now be opened to tourists on November 15.

TheKatarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is set to reopen on November 15. File photo of a newborn ghariyal emerging out of its egg along the banks of Geruwa river in the sanctuary, close to the Nepal border. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The KWS was to open for tourists from November 1, but owing to cracks and water-logging in forest routes, the date has been extended to November 15.

Giving this information, divisional forest officer (DFO) KWS Akash Deep Badhawan said that the 20- kilometre stretch, which was one of the main routes for tourists, had been badly damaged due to the rain in the third week of October. Besides this, three wireless towers and several forest outposts were damaged due to thunder storm.

Since roads were badly damaged and floodwater had not yet receded completely, it was very difficult to open the KWS for tourists on November 1, the DFO added. He said that pointing out all these problems,

he had sent a proposal to the government to extend the opening date of the KWS and it had been approved. Hence, now the sanctuary would be opened for

tourists from November 15. SHARIQ RAIS SIDDIQUI