MANAS, Nov 6 � Better coordination between officials of the Manas National Park and the Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan has improved management of the parks to a large extent and the flow of tourists, particularly from abroad, is likely to increase if the Governments of India and Bhutan can work out modalities to establish tourist routes involving both the parks.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Field Director of the Manas National Park Anindya Swargowari said that as there is no physical barrier between India and Bhutan and the National Park stretches to both the countries, improved coordination between the park officials of both the countries is beneficial to both the parks. He said that the officials of the Royal Manas National Park often come to India for sharing information and vice versa, and during the last tiger census also, all the relevant information was shared to avoid double counting of tigers.
There was a time when the Manas National Park was closed for tourists and most of the camps inside the park were winded up because of militant activities, but the situation has now changed and efforts are now being made to make the park more attractive for tourists. Swargoyari said that a number of tourists visited the park after getting relevant information in the website and new tourist routes have also been opened in the park and steps have been initiated to repair the roads. He said that due to disturbance, the UNESCO had declared Manas as a World Heritage Site in Danger in 1992, but in 2011, the �in danger� tag was withdrawn and tourists have started coming to the park again. He asserted that Manas is now safe for tourists and last year around 16,000 tourists including more than 200 foreigners visited it. �We expect that the number of tourists will increase this year as we have opened only on October 27 and tourists have already started coming in. The flow is likely to increase after the school examinations are over,� he added.
