District Forest Officer Anant Shankar has said that the department is mulling to develop a biodiversity park, wildlife safari, treks, and forest trail paths for residents of Visakhapatnam and tourists at Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary. He was speaking during the agreement signing programme between Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the Visakhapatnam Forest Division, as the former has allocated an amount of ₹90 lakh under Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) for establishment of the Eastern Ghats Biodiversity Centre at Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Forest Department will develop an Eastern Ghats Biodiversity centre comprising an orchidarium, a medicinal plants garden, an herbal garden, and a nature interpretation centre. “Once established, the place will be one of its kind eco-tourism complex in our State. The department plans to complete works in the next three months,” he said.
The DFO also added that the initiatives would help the Forest Department to boost various conservation activities in the Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.
He also said that the nature interpretation centre will be developed on the theme of Eastern Ghats biodiversity, tribal culture, and threats to the forest of Eastern Ghats. It will further house a live model of Eastern Ghats ecosystem with ferns, orchids and other endemic flora and fauna. The orchidarium will have endemic orchids species as well as other tropical hybrids, which will be first of its kind in Visakhapatnam. It will also focus on creating a gene pool of orchids as well as for education and research purposes.
Executive Director, South Eastern Region Pipelines, IOCL, Sanjay Kumar, said that the IOCL is very much happy to associate with the Forest Department and contributing its part towards the conservation and protection of forests.
Chief General Manager (HR), SERPL, S. Patnaik, and others were present.
