Tourist cottage owners and merchants in Valparai, Tamil Nadu will implead in the Supreme Court (SC) case regarding allowing Tiger Tourism in Core Areas. The decision comes a day after the Tamil Nadu government asked buffer zones for tiger reserves in the state to resume tourism activities. Valparai is classified as Anamalai Tiger Reserve’s (ATR) buffer zone.
According to the 40 home-stay providers and over 600 traders in the plantation town,
Valparai is the only municipality in India to come under a tiger reserve, be it Core Area or buffer zone, according to a report by K A Shaji in The Times of India. Tourism and commercial operators in the hill station are not clear on what kind of tourism would be permitted in a buffer zone. According to the tourism industry, the urban population in the area would be badly affected even if the whole municipality and adjoining tea estates are treated as a buffer zone. "The issue of Valparai is very peculiar. Other areas in the country, which stand close to tiger reserves, are not urban like Valparai. We are here for generations and being in the buffer zone would land us to trouble,'' said S Jebaraj, Member, Valparai Merchants Association. Entry to Valparai is through Aliyar and Attakatty check posts, which are part of core areas of ATR. So vehicular movement would definitely get affected and locals travelling to the plains at night to get to hospitals would also face difficulty, said Jebaraj. "We have approached the local municipality, tea plantations and civil society movements to join us in impleading in the case. It is easy for the state government to demarcate Core Areas and buffer zones in the same way as it was when ATR was just a national park,'' said Mohammed Shafi, Secretary, Valparai Tourist Cottages Welfare Association.
Click here to see the original article>Valparai is the only municipality in India to come under a tiger reserve, be it Core Area or buffer zone, according to a report by K A Shaji in The Times of India. Tourism and commercial operators in the hill station are not clear on what kind of tourism would be permitted in a buffer zone. According to the tourism industry, the urban population in the area would be badly affected even if the whole municipality and adjoining tea estates are treated as a buffer zone. "The issue of Valparai is very peculiar. Other areas in the country, which stand close to tiger reserves, are not urban like Valparai. We are here for generations and being in the buffer zone would land us to trouble,'' said S Jebaraj, Member, Valparai Merchants Association. Entry to Valparai is through Aliyar and Attakatty check posts, which are part of core areas of ATR. So vehicular movement would definitely get affected and locals travelling to the plains at night to get to hospitals would also face difficulty, said Jebaraj. "We have approached the local municipality, tea plantations and civil society movements to join us in impleading in the case. It is easy for the state government to demarcate Core Areas and buffer zones in the same way as it was when ATR was just a national park,'' said Mohammed Shafi, Secretary, Valparai Tourist Cottages Welfare Association.