Area of Bardia National Park to be Doubled

The government of Nepal is going to enlarge the Bardia National Park, a prominent habitat of tiger, one-horned rhinoceros, elephants, etc., and it is going to be the Nation’s biggest National park.

About 8 hundred and 98 sq. km of area is going to be added in its present area of 968 sq. km. Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal is going to declare the proposal in the meeting/workshop that is being organized by GTF (Global Tiger Forum) from October 27 to 31st in the special sponsorship of World Bank.

Analysts and conservationists consider the area that is going to be added in the park is very favorable for tigers. Bardia National Park is regarded very appropriate and safe shelter for elephants, tigers, rhinos and some other endangered wild animals. To safeguard tigers and other animals, the need of extension in the area of Bardia National Park was felt.

The enlarged Bardia National Park will reach to the border of Banke District, Chure Mountain to the North, Shiva river of Dang to the East and East-West highway to the South; in which forest area is about 549 square kilometers. The enlarged park area will also enclose 13 villages into it and the government and the GTF meeting/workshop participants are agreeable to save the contemporary traditional villages inside the park in their own traditional state. Notably, at the time of declaration of Bardia National Park in 1998, 1600 families were shifted to another place from Babai valley.

The new area will be divided into four divisions, i.e., Chapargaudi, Kusum, Malai and Ghuiyabari. The project will be started in effect division wise one by one. To safeguard the park, the government is planning to establish 12 armed posts and 6 range-posts in the park area.

This enlargement plan was diagrammed and announced during the time of former PM, Girija Parasad Koirala, but due to Maoist insurgency in the country, the plan could not be formulated. At that time as gift to nature earth Kanchanjunga Conservation Area was announced and the pristine Mt. Kanchanjunga exists here. Conservationist Harka Gurung was the sketcher of this project.

A budget of 270 million rupees is estimated for the enlargement project of Bardia National Park.