Buxa Tiger Reserve tourism has been disrupted during the festive season after safari-route restrictions and an ongoing protest by residents of 18 forest villages kept visitors away from the reserve in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district.
The reserve was reopened to tourists on October 10 after being closed from September 30 to October 9 following the relocation of a three-year-old tigress from Bihar. However, tourists were unable to enter the reserve on the reopening day after residents of the forest villages blocked the Buxa Forest Road near the Rajabhatkhawa gate. Although the road blockade was lifted later that evening, homestays and safari operators have continued to report a lack of visitors.
Debashis Sharma, deputy field director of Buxa Tiger Reserve’s eastern division, said the forest had reopened on October 10 and that only some safari routes had been closed to prevent disturbance to the tigress. He said several other routes remained open, adding that the animal needed time to acclimatise. Sharma declined to comment on whether tourists were arriving or why visitor numbers remained low.
The forest department’s restrictions have coincided with a protest by residents of the 18 forest villages. According to the report, the residents began a sit-in near the Rajabhatkhawa gate on October 5, opposing what they describe as strict forest-department rules and demanding implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The sit-in was still continuing after the road blockade was withdrawn.
The disruption has also drawn safari vehicle drivers into the protest. Kisan Das, a safari driver, said popular routes such as the Chunia Watchtower route had been closed, while the department had identified the Mahakal route as open even though the road there had not been prepared. He said tourists faced higher costs and that drivers had stopped operating their vehicles until their demands were addressed.
Manab Bakshi, secretary of the Alipurduar District Tourism Association, said the association supported the forest-village residents’ movement. He said the timing of the restrictions had affected tourism before the festival period, with visitors cancelling bookings and seeking refunds. According to Bakshi, homestays were ready to accommodate tourists but were receiving no visitors because safari services were not functioning normally.
Buxa Tiger Reserve is among the forest areas in West Bengal that traditionally remain closed from June 15 to September 15 and reopen after the monsoon period. Although Buxa reopened on September 16 this year, the subsequent closure linked to the tigress’s release, the road blockade and the continuing protest have affected the reserve’s tourism activity during the festive season.
The forest department has kept some safari routes open while restricting others to give the relocated tigress time to settle. The residents’ sit-in and the safari drivers’ stoppage remain the immediate issues affecting access and tourism operations at the reserve.
