After a gap of nearly two years, the vast green expanse of Kambalakonda Eco Tourism Park will soon get a new look with restoration work picking up pace from this month. Spread across 7,293 hectares of forest area, the flora and fauna and the park’s facilities were badly damaged during the Cyclone Hudhud two years ago. With the World Bank sanctioning Rs. 12 crore to the AP Disaster Recovery Project for redevelopment of the eco tourism park in the 107.5 hectare area of non-protected zone within the forest area, the Forest Department chalked out plan for resuming of activities in the park in next four to six months time.
“The plantation activity has already begun and the repair and restoration work will begin in the next couple of days. To begin with, we are planning to rebuild the river crossing facility and resume boating activity soon. For this six new boats will be introduced along with other safety amenities. The present watch tower which is in a dilapidated state will be replaced and two new watch towers are being planned,” Divisional Forest Officer B. Dhananjaya Rao, who is overlooking the project, told The Hindu .
The project also includes developing a children’s park, a butterfly park, a canteen area and restrooms. Trekking activities have already resumed within the park in its two trekking routes of 3 km and 5 km. There are plans to develop another two km trekking path for children as well as develop view points along all trekking routes.
Move against plastic bottles
In order to discourage visitors from using plastic bottles, the Forest Department has introduced a new concept. “Anybody carrying a plastic body inside has to hand over a deposit of Rs 10 at the entrance. The money will be given back after handing over the plastic bottle. We are aiming to make the park a plastic-free zone and this is a step towards it. We have got a good response for this initiative,” Mr. Dhananjaya Rao said. This apart there are plans to provide cycles on hire for visitors. Earlier, the park had eco-friendly cottages which were damaged during the cyclone Hudhud. But as of now, the Forest Department was not keen to develop cottages.
The eco tourism park is being run by the Eco Development Committee where 15 people from the village of Sambhuvanipalem, located within the forest area, are employed. “Once the new facilities are in place, we rope in more people from the village which has around 50 families, to support the concept of the community based eco-tourism park. In future, we also want to explore the option of starting night safari,” Mr. Rao said.
