BERHAMPUR: The peacock protection committee of Ganjam district has urged the government to declare the Pakidi hill range near Berhampur city, home to a large number of peacocks, as an eco-tourism destination. "If the hill range is declared an eco-tourism spot, it will attract visitors from all across the country and abroad, contributing to the development of the backward area," said Samir Pradhan, the president of the committee.
Pradhan has submitted a memorandum to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who also holds the forest portfolio. The committee was given the Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation, the highest award in the state for protecting wildlife, in 2006, for its effort to protect and conserve the national bird habitat.
When the monsoon clouds loom over Pakidi, droves of peacocks descend on the villages of Sobhachandrapur, Amuabadi, Kerikerijhola, Bharatapalli, Cheramaria, Sameiguda. Flocks of the national bird were also sighted in areas like Karnoli, Khadabahaga, Pakidi and Kirtipur, Pradhan said. He attributed the love and affection showered by the villagers on the birds as the main reason for their rising numbers in the area and for the spread of their habitat.
"While the chances of sighting of peacocks are slim in most places in the country, one is sure to spot the national bird here," he said, adding there is almost no poaching in the area. The committee has estimated a Rs 40 lakh project to develop the area as an eco-tourism destination. The project includes two cottages, a dormitory, an interpretation center, a watch tower, an approach road to the tower and water harvesting structures. "The approach road to the hill range is in a bad shape. No tourist can reach the area even on a motorcycle," the committee president said. The roads urgently need repair to boost tourism here, he added.
Source: TOI
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