Owners of 3 safari vehicles penalised for flouting norms in PTR

Pilibhit: Authorities at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on the owners of three safari vehicles on Tuesday for allegedly flouting norms in the core forest area during an evening tour on Dec 7, last year.Tourists from one of the vehicles alighted from the vehicle at the bifurcation point in core forest after they noticed a tiger. Another incident took place near Syphon Canal bridge in which a tiger was hemmed in by two safari vehicles at both the ends of the bridge. "Following the penalty after a thorough inquiry, the vehicles were released and a decision was taken not to register these defaulter vehicles for safaris in future," said PTR divisional forest officer (DFO) Manish Singh.The action was taken as per the NTCA guidelines which clearly states that "no visitor is allowed inside a safari park to move on foot under any circumstances. Visitors are not allowed to step out of the vehicle even if it breaks down, till they're asked to do so by authorised staff...""In addition, tourists should be asked by the tiger reserve's staff as well as the safari vehicle drivers and tourist guides to maintain silence so as not to provoke animals when they are in the vicinity of the vehicle," the DFO said, adding that it was not only a matter of NTCA norms' violation, but trapping of the tiger on Syphon Canal bridge could have provoked it to attack tourists.Forester (forest inspector) Vashishtha Kumar and forest guard Vikas Kumar, deployed to monitor respective pockets, were also cautioned after the incidents, the DFO added.