Warangal: Night camping, jungle safari to be introduced at Pakhal Lake soon
Warangal: The forest department which is taking several steps to promote the Pakhal Lake as one the most sought after tourist spots in the State is planning to introduce night camping and jungle safari facilities in the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary in the district. It is already developing amenities like seating areas by setting up the […]
Warangal: The forest department which is taking several steps to promote the Pakhal Lake as one the most sought after tourist spots in the State is planning to introduce night camping and jungle safari facilities in the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary in the district. It is already developing amenities like seating areas by setting up the fence covering seven acres of the land on a hillock abutting the Pakhal Lake in an attempt to provide safe shelter for the tourists in view of the growing monkey menace.
Speaking to this newspaper, Narsampet Forest Range Officer (FRO) Ramesh said that the seating area was being developed at a cost of Rs 20 lakhs and it would be ready for the tourists in a month or two. “We are planning to promote the tourism activities in association with the Tourism department. We are trying to make the forest and lake premises plastic free,” he said. When asked whether the boating facility would be resumed at the Lake, he said that the officials of the forest and TSTDC were in talks to resume the boating operations, and hoped that it would be resumed during the coming rainy season. Sources said that the forest department had asked the TSTDC to stop the boating facilities as the latter was not sharing the revenue with the forest department.
“The District Forest Officer has directed us to prepare plans for providing night camping and jungle safari in the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary for the benefit of the nature lovers, birders and other tourists,” the FRO said. It may be added here that the Forest Department prepared plans to develop Pakhal lake, which is part of the Pakhal wildlife sanctuary, at an estimated cost of Rs 1.50 crore in a bid to promote eco-tourism. While a day camping facility is available near the lake, officials plan to set up a canopy walkway (treetop walk) and others soon. About 10 km from Narsampet town and 57 km from Warangal city, Pakhal lake is one of the few unpolluted lakes in India. This Lake was constructed by Kakatiyan ruler Ganapati Deva in 1213 AD.
The Tourism Department constructed glass and tented cottages and a restaurant at the lake, and they were thrown open in March, 2017. The 30 sqkm-lake is surrounded by hilly terrain and a dense forest. The water body irrigates several thousand acres even today. Pakhal WildLife Sanctuary, abutting the lake, spans over 839 sq km. It is the habitat of wildlife nilgai, chital, leopard, jackal, sloth bear and even a bonnet macaque. The place is also known to have pythons, cobras, vipers, kraits and Indian chameleons. A tiger was also spotted in the sanctuary several months ago.
“More than 70 species of the both migratory and resident birds like Red crested Pochard, Painted stork, Open billed stork, jacanas, Garganey and others were spotted in the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary in February this year,” according to District Forest Officer (DFO) Arpana Syal. The Pelican water bird was also spotted for the first time in the Pakhal.
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