Activists pointed out that tourism provides additional protection as well as revenue to forests and poachers would have a field day if the core areas are no longer under constant watch. Officials also feared a large number of forest guards would be out of job as a result of the ban.
Yadevendra Singh, president of guides association said: "The government with their limited resources cannot save the tiger. Tiger tourism is as big in Rajasthan as monument tourism in other places. With so much awareness about the tiger, importance of bio-diversity, conservation, tourism has increased leaps and bounds contributing directly or indirectly to the cause of the tiger."
Madhya Pradesh chief wildlife warden H S Pabla said, "In 2011, the state received a whopping Rs 16 crore as entry fee from different national parks, which is almost equivalent to funds sanctioned by the Centre for forest protection. And these funds were utilized to pay salaries to the staff engaged in forest protection. Banning tourism means we will be left with no other option but to sack them from their jobs, as we won't have funds to pay their salaries. Eventually, we will leave the forests at the mercy of the poachers," Pabla said, adding that 500 forest guards camp inside Kanha alone every day for patrolling.
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