Planning to book air-conditioned cottages at Makulakocha in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary think twice as the waiting list for booking lasts till August. Tourists from different places have reserved the four cottages for the next three months for spending quality time in natural surroundings this summer.
With monsoon round the corner, tourists are not taking risk when it comes to booking the facilities. Tourists from Jharkhand, Bengal and Odisha flock the sanctuary 192 sq km elephant abode during monsoon to enjoy the flora and fauna.
“We have booked Makulakocha facility from June 9 onwards till the end of August,” a staff at forest range office in Mango informed. The tariff for each cottage with attached toilets, a refrigerator and TV, is Rs 1,100, including Rs 100 for maintenance, per night. A cafeteria inside the compound serves vegetarian and non-veg food. Tariff for non-Ac rooms is Rs 600 per night.
Dalma range officer R.P. Singh said Dalma like always they would like to provide quality service to the tourists. “ We are happy with the response. Dalma is one of the favourite getaway destinations. People have lot to see here.
The footfall increases during the rainy season,” he added.
The forest department’s focus on infrastructure development has played a key role in increasing revenue as well as the footfall this time. The Dalma sanctuary, known for its scenic beauty and large presence of the elephants has witnessed a gradual improvement on the infrastructure front with setting up of mud houses, cafeteria, watch tower and rest rooms.
Dalma sprawls over an area of 193 square kilometres and houses 85 villages inside the enclave and 51 villages in its periphery. Dalma is frequently visited people of Odisha and Kolkata. In fact a large number of foreigners also visited Dalma last year.
An officer said that the efforts taken by the forest department has helped them to spread greater awareness on environment conservation too. Tourists from Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha and Chhatisgarh visit Dalma sanctuary and prefer to stay at the Pinderbera forest guest house.
Inaugurated by late Sanjay Gandhi in 1975, the sanctuary is 10 kms from the city, to the north of Subarnarekha River. About 6 km from east to west, the sanctuary extends over 193 sq km in to the thick forests of the Dalma mountain range, which rise to 3000 ft.
Accessible by road, Dalma is famous for its herds of wild elephants, barking deer's, sloth bears, leopards, porcupines and tigers.
