Adilabad's popular Kawal wildlife sanctuary, declared as India's 42nd tiger reserve by the environment ministry in June this year, will soon open its doors to tourists. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has now decided to develop this as an eco-tourism project around the 893 square km-long sanctuary.

Spread over an area of about four acres this tourist spot, once complete, will have 20 'green' cottages along with a restaurant, an interpretation centre (to educate people about eco-tourism) and other outdoor activities for the benefit of visitors.

According to APTDC officials, the land acquisition for the Rs 3 crore-worth project has been completed and work is expected to take off in the next few months. "We will call for tenders in 15-20 days. Once that is done, we will kickstart the project officially," said Sandeep Kumar Sultania, managing director, APTDC pointing out how the department is taking special care to ensure that it is an eco-tourism project in the true sense of the word.

"We have decided to keep the use of concrete to the minimum here. We will instead use more bamboo and wood. Solar lighting is another thing we are hoping to incorporate in the project," Sultania said. 

But while both tourism and forest officials are upbeat about this new venture and feel that it will bring more focus to the sanctuary, city environmentalists aren't convinced. They fear that the project, much like the earlier eco-tourism projects executed by the tourism department in the state, will spell doom for the tiger reserve.

Reasons? Lack of protection around the sanctuary and undefined zones that make the area vulnerable to poachers and other miscreants. "Kawal is still in a nascent stage and not prepared to open its doors to tourists. The authorities should first work on tightening security around the site and demarking 'go' and 'no-go' zones. Tourism should come much later," said environmentalist Diya Banerjee who is familiar with the area.

Another concern among wildlife experts is that of waste disposal. Pointing out how authorities have completely neglected this issue in the past while setting up eco-tourism sites in the state, they feel that an improper waste management plan can ruin the charm of such sites.

"Be it the Kuntala falls, Papikondalu or even Srisailam, they have all turned them into garbage dump yards because of no check on waste disposal. To save Kawal from joining this list, the authorities will have to take utmost care to address this garbage issue," said Farida Tampal, state director of World Wildlife Foundation-Hyderabad.

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