The PM will initiate an awareness campaign by uprooting an invasive species known as Mikania micrantha (bitter vine), which is said to be spreading fast in CNP. The tiger and rhino habitats are said to be slowly degrading due to the invasion of this wild shrub.
“He will launch the campaign by manually uprooting the dangerous wild plant there,” Bohara said.
The threat to the wild habitat came to the fore lately after a research carried out by researcher Chanda Rana which found that the invasive species has almost covered 80 per cent of the forest area of CNP and can be destroyed only manually. The wild plant, which originated after major flooding, according to the research, is said to be a major threat facing CNP.
Mikania micrantha, as the name suggests, can spread a mile every minute. It grows extremely fast, covering the grassland, shrubbery and forests, and blocks the growth of the plants and trees it spreads over, thereby killing the native plant species and causing havoc to the ecosystem.
The PM is also scheduled to attend a program of Ghatana Ra Bichar weekly in Sauraha.
3 resorts to stay closed
The PM´s visit has come at a time when the government´s decision to allow the seven resorts inside CNP to re-start has come under fire. The hotels and resorts themselves are now seen divided over the issue of exit policy.
Three of the seven resorts in CNP -- Tiger Tops, Machan and Gaida Wildlife -- have remained closed even after the government decision to allow the resorts to re-open for two-and-a-half years in light of the upcoming 2011 Tourism Year.
“We want to exit as soon as possible as it does not make any sense for us to continue given the loss and continuous bandas,” said Chairman and Managing Director of Machan Wildlife Resort Prakash Shrestha. According to Shrestha, the resort cannot run on contract basis. He said, “The focus must now be on an exit policy, which the present contract is silent about.”
The three resorts feel that “safe landing” and “re-location” is important for them. Gaida Wildlife Camp´s Bharat Basnyet said, “Since this is a closing down process, we do not feel the need to open now.”
The three resorts, which remain closed, have demanded uniformity in government policy. They have demanded that same conditions, including equal royalty policy, be applied to all the resorts.
“Since the Public Accounts Committee has said that incentive will be given to those who leave CNP earlier, things should be finalized now,” Basnyet said. But they also argued that if they have to re-open they should be allowed to stay till the end of 2012.
The other resort owners, on the other hand, have said that they believe in the tax policy of the government. “We have willingly paid tax and have done nothing wrong,” Basanta Mishra, executive chairman of Temple Tiger, said. Mishra said that the government was looking forward to formulating a “permanent policy” on protection and promotion of wildlife tourism.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
Related story
Govt approves National Strategy on Foreign Invasive Species
