CHITWAN: Chitwan National Park (CNP) has generated over Rs 100 million in revenue from 72,000 tourists visiting the park.
A total of 72,461 people visited the park between mid-July and mid-December of the current fiscal year.
According to CNP’s Information Officer and Conservation Officer, Avinash Thapa Magar, foreign tourists have outnumbered domestic visitors during this period.
The number of foreign tourists visiting CNP stood at 33,730, while domestic tourists numbered 32,880.
Additionally, 5,851 tourists from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries visited the park during this time.
Magar noted that a total of Rs 106.71 million in revenue was collected from both domestic and foreign visitors in the past five months.
During this period, the park also released 41 gharial crocodiles, bred at the Gharial Breeding Center in Kasara, into their natural habitat.
Magar reported that 40 female and one male gharial were released into the Rapti River at three different times.
In collaboration with local communities, the park has been holding meetings and preparing action plans for wildlife protection and poaching prevention.
Magar also mentioned that the rhino population has increased in the western part of the park, and plans are underway to relocate some to the eastern region.
This relocation is deemed essential for the conservation of rhinos, given the risks posed by flooding in the Narayani River.
In preparation for the internal relocation of rhinos, a meeting was attended by several key stakeholders, including senior ecologist at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Haribhadra Acharya, Senior Conservation Officer at CNP Dr. Ganesh Panta, the battalion commander of the new Gorakh Battalion, Divisional Forest Officer, Buffer Zone Users Committee chairs, tourism committee officials, local businesspeople, and representatives from the local government.
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