Guides, drivers at Bengal's Gorumara National Park told not to

Safari jeep drivers and guides working at the Gorumara National Park in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district were on Sunday asked by the authorities to refrain from posting photographs of wild animals on the social media.

The national park authorities said the photographs provide vital information about the location of the wild animals to poachers, making their work easy.

The instruction was issued on Sunday by Gorumara south division ranger Ayan Chakraborty to the jeep drivers and guides working at the national park.

He, along with Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Janmejay Pal, briefed them at the Lataguri Environmental Observatory here, a day before the reopening of all the protected forest areas in the region on Monday.

The protected forests remain closed from June 15 to September 15 every year during the breeding period of the animals.

The decision to prevent posting of photographs of the wild animals on the social media was taken by the Forest Department during a recent meeting held here, an official of the department said.

The photographs of the wildlife put on social media by the safari jeep drivers and the guides give the poachers information about the whereabouts of their prey, he said.

The people working in the national park have to be very alert regarding this issue, he said.

Chakraborty also warned of penal action against anyone found littering the protected forest area with plastic.

The area has been declared a "no-plastic zone".