Three tourists from Tirupur were fined ₹25,000 after they illegally entered protected forests of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in their private car on Sunday.
M. Mariappan, Forest Range Officer, Theppakadu Reception Range, said the tourists unlocked a forest gate which bars entry into a road used by the Forest Department to conduct their Eco-Development Committee activities. The road, known as Circle Road, is used for legal bus and car safari by the department to show interested tourists a portion of the forests inside MTR.
Signboards ignored
The three tourists, G. Vijayakumar, Ganeshan, both 35, and Senthil Kumar, 30, were stopped by the department staff less than 50 metres after they entered the road. They were fined for trespass.
The tourists allegedly told forest staff that they did not know that the road was meant only for vehicles from the Forest Department, though there are prominent boards placed at the entrance.
The increased tourist flow has led to a whole range of issues for the department staff working in the MTR, who have been stopping and fining visitors on illegal vehicle safari, for parking vehicles inside the reserve, smoking tobacco and feeding animals such as langurs, deers, peacocks and
