Forest adventure set to get exciting in Narsapur

Proposed night camping near the urban forest park aimed at promoting wildlife conservation; facility expected to be ready by next March

Hyderabad: Forest Department, as part of its efforts to promote adventure tourism and create awareness on forest and wildlife conservation, will be providing various facilities including night camping near the existing forest park in Narsapur. This facility is expected to be ready by March 2022.

The department procured 14 acres of revenue land abutting the forest park. There will be five suites, temporary tents for night camping and other facilities like cycling and trekking for children, a senior official from the Forest Department told Telangana Today.

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The idea is to promote forest and wildlife conservation among children. There will be an exclusive hall to play audio-video clips on wildlife and measures being taken by the department on conservation. These apart, educational programmes will be hosted regularly at the park, the official said, adding that the entire project will cost Rs 2.5 crore. At present, about 300 people visit the Narsapur urban forest park during weekends and it is closed on Mondays for maintenance works.

Meanwhile, the department is also working towards completing the development of all urban forest parks across the State by March 2022.

Of the targeted 109 parks, 53 have already been developed and works on the remaining parks are under progress. Among the 53 urban forest parks, 36 have been developed under Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) limits and the rest in the districts.

The State government, under its plans to extend recreational facilities to people from both urban and rural areas, allocated Rs 600 crore for development of these 109 parks. Under this initiative, the department so far has spent about Rs 314 crore on development of 53 parks, he said.

“Work on the other parks are being executed at a brisk pace and efforts are on to complete them works by March,” he said.

The average extent of these urban forest parks ranges between 300 and 400 acres. Depending on the location and feasibility, the department takes up establishment of recreational facilities for the visitors.

During a meeting held last week, Special Chief Secretary A Shanti Kumari advised the officials to take the support of corporates in development of parks and plantation works, under their corporate social responsibility initiatives. In urban areas, only part of the forest blocks would be converted into urban parks, and the remaining area would be protected as conservation zones, she told the officials.

The parks developed at Narsapur, Kandlakoya, Bhagyanagar Nandanavanam and Medipally parks on the Hyderabad-Warangal Highway are teeming with visitors. Cycling tracks, pathways, gazebos, watch towers and other facilities are provided for the visitors. A nominal fee is charged for entry into these parks to meet their maintenance expenditure.

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