A video of a tiger chasing a tourist bus at the Jungle Safari in Nava Raipur has gone viral on social media following which its two employees were sacked by the forest department due to their alleged negligence.
The incident happened on Friday evening when a group of tourists was on a trip inside jungle safari at Nava Raipur.
In the video, two tigers were seen fighting. The video was shot from inside the tourist bus. Then, one of the two tigers charged towards the bus in a bid to catch curtain hanging from the bus. Later the bus drove away leaving the big cats behind.
“After the incident came to our notice, driver of the vehicle Omprakash Bharti and guide Naveen Puraina were terminated for allegedly ignoring the standard protocol during safari,’’ Director of Nandanvan Jungle Safari M Mercy Bella told reporters.
They were daily wage employees of jungle safari.
No harm was reported to either the animals or the tourists. Although it was too risky as anything could have happened to the animal, the director said.
“As per preliminary inquiry the video was shot by the guide. All the guides and drivers have been trained to follow dos and don’ts during safari to ensure the safety of both animals and visitors but two terminated personnel allegedly ignored it”, she said.
Instead of accelerating the vehicle, they should have stayed and waited for the situation to normalise, she added.
An enquiry has also been ordered into the incident and a show-cause notice has been issued to the forest guard, who was in-charge of the tourist vehicle, she further said.