Similipal Tiger Reserve reopens next week

The restrictions on entry into the park was being imposed every year on June 15 on the onset of monsoon as the roads inside the jungle got washed away by rain waters, Anup Nayak, Regional Chief Conservator of Forest (RCCF), Baripada said.

Tourists will be allowed to visit the park only during day time and nobody can spend night inside the park. The restriction was imposed since 2009 following a Maoist attack, he said.

Wildlife lovers can visit the park from two entry points at Pithabata and Kaliani. This year only 60 vehicles can enter the park from both the points during 6 am to 9 am and leave the reserve before evening, Nayak said.

Introduced for the first time, visitors can have a glimpse of wildlife on the elephants back. Three trained elephants with mahuts are being kept ready for the purpose. The tuskers and mahuts were trained by the experts from Assam, the RCCF said.