Gir braces for a lion’s share of tourists,hotels on a leash

The forest department too has been on its toes as it has doubled the permit quota per day for the GWS to accommodate heavy tourist rush.

“The result of advertisement campaign is there to see for us in the first season itself. Sasan has been flooded with tourists like never before,” said local mamlatdar Rekhaba Servaiya,adding that “the same administration has stepped up vigil to prevent exploitation of tourists”.

On November 2,all the hotel owners were called in by the mamlatdar office,which gave them a list of dos and don’ts. According to district authorities,there will be surprise checks at hotels to find out about tariffs and other services charges. Besides,each hotel has been asked to keep two rooms reserved till evening to accommodate walk-in tourists and avoid black marketing of rooms through advance booking. For the forest department,it has become the busiest period of the year. With number of tourists swelling,the tourists’ quota for GWS has been doubled for 10 days during Diwali so that nobody goes disappointed.

Usually,only 90 groups or families are allowed inside the GWS per day. But according to forest officials,this quota has been increased to 180 from November 3-13.

“Tourists have been descending from far away places. The quota has been increased by the forest officials so that everybody gets a chance for lion safari,” said Sarviya.