Guj: Jambughoda under Rs 1.5 cr eco-tourism proj

Jambughoda, Gujarat, June 3: The Gujarat government has decided to develop Jamughoda wildlife sanctury an the eco-tourism site to boost wildlife tourism in the state.

Located around 210 km from Gandhinagar in the Panchmahal district, Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctury houses a variety of rare animals and plants including a large number of leopards.

''Declared as a sanctury in May 1990, Jambughoda has been recently selected as one of the most important sites to be developed for the Rs 1.5 crore eco-tourism project by state Forest Minister Mangubhai Patel,'' a senior forest official told sources.

''The other sites to be developed for eco-tourism along with Jambughoda are Kilad near Vansada National Park and at Padam-Dungari near Vyara taluka of South Gujarat,'' he said.

''Though the large part of the sanctury is in the Panchmahals, a small part of it (Targol Round) falls in the adjoining Vadodara district. Ours is a magnificent forest of teak, bamboos and other miscellaneous species. The area has two water reservoirs -- one at Kada and the other at Targol. These water bodies add to the aesthetic settings and habitat diversity,'' said the official.

''Leopard is the top predator here whose population has been increasing. The habitat is shared by other animals such as sloth bear, jackal, blue bull, wild boar and four horned antelopes. The area has also many varieties of reptiles as well, which include many venomous and non-venomous snakes,'' he said.

''Spread over 130.38 square kilometer, the forest was a part of the princely state of Jambughoda prior to independence. The most striking feature of the area is the undulating hills having good forest cover with the valleys having small human settlements. The interesting places are Kada, Targol and Jhand Hanuman temple,'' the official said.

''The most picturesque location is Kada where a beautiful forest rest house stands on the banks of an irrigation reservoir. Kada happens to be a wonderful camping site as well. Due to its location close to a cosmopolitan city of Vadodara, the sanctuary is an ideal resort for city people and very good camping site for nature campers,'' he added.

People of the area are mainly tribal. There are 25 villages (including five villages inside the Sanctuary), which are distributed among five forest blocks and two ranges. Local tribals collect minor forest produce from the area for their livelihood. People also allow grazing of their livestock and cut wood in the forest.

UNI