The Uttar Pradesh government, in an attempt to tap tourism potential in central UP, is planning a major revamp for the National Chambal Sanctuary.
The National Chambal Sanctuary is home to Ghariyals, eight rare species of turtles and the Gangetic dolphins but has failed to emerge as a tourist destination due to lack of adequate publicity and promotion.
Sujoy Banerjee, divisional forest officer, National Chambal Sanctuary, says that plans are now being drawn up to develop the area as a tourist hub with special focus on river cruise. Incidentally, the 425 km of the Chambal river was declared a protected area in 1979.
According to official sources, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is personally overseeing the project and is keen to develop the region as a major tourist destination.
“The Chambal area has always been a major fascination for the people, especially because of legends related to dacoits. However, the previous government completely destroyed the region in their drive to flush out dacoits by planting thorny Babool trees. We are not trying to remove these thorny trees and bushes and environmental-friendly trees to restore greenery in the region,” said an official.
Once the tree plantation work is over, the state government plans to build cottages in the ravines to enable people to stay overnight and get a feel of the region.
“We will also prepare brochures relating to the history of the region, including the legends of dacoits, and also train local guides for the purpose. This will be a kind of ravine tourism, coupled with adventure tourism,” the official added.
The state government plans to introduce river cruise along the Chambal river that originates from Kota in Rajasthan, runs through sandy ravines and ends at Bhare in Etawah, where it merges with the Yamuna. The sanctuary area, incidentally, runs along three states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has 150 km of the river sanctuary running along Bah (Agra) and Etawah.