Access to Yala: safari jeeps limited to 200 per day

24 October 2017 08:30 am - 5 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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The safari jeep operators at the Yala National Park carried out a protest campaign yesterday morning demanding unhindered access to the wildlife sanctuary, which is one of the country’s top most tourist attractions.

The Yala National Park was opened for the public yesterday after a two-month closure.

The opening saw the introduction of a new rule, which restricted the number of safari jeeps accessing the park to 200 a day—100 jeeps in the morning and another 100 in the afternoon.
This was introduced after consultation with the Wildlife and Tourism authorities as Yala was being overcrowded.

Safari jeep operators claim that tourism will suffer due to the new regulation. But the country’s tourism authorities are of the view that the move would in fact help tourism in the long-run and also protect the fauna and flora at the national park.

They said the new regulation is aimed at ensuring discipline, order and sustainability at the Yala National Park.

While the move is commendable, the tourism authorities are yet to carry out a proper study into the recreational carrying capacity of Yala National Park and take necessary regulatory actions to preserve this invaluable national resource for the future generation.

Over a half a million tourists visited Yala National Park in 2015.

There were numerous incidents recorded at many occasions of unrestrained safari jeeps playing mayhem in the Yala National Park as jeep drivers follow their own jungle law within the sanctuary.

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Comments - 5

Be Fair Tuesday, 24 October 2017 05:25 PM

Whose stupid idea this? should limit to less than 100.Yala is raped like crazy

Dee Tuesday, 24 October 2017 05:28 PM

Can someone ban those unsafe lorries (safari jeeps) totally! Uninsured, polluting and driven by unruly people.

Lord Wolfstein Wednesday, 25 October 2017 10:11 AM

This is not enough to protect a national park. Only 100 licenses should be awarded. Only jeeps that are not older than 3 years with the highest standard in environmental protection and safety should be allowed to travel on restricted roads. Each jeep must have a GPS transmitter so that the authorities can monitor the vehicles. It must be ensured that the owners of the jeep also pay taxes from the income in addition to the license fees. The drivers would have to undergo a special wildlife training to be allowed to travel in national parks.

Fazal Sheriff Wednesday, 25 October 2017 11:10 AM

There are far larger national parks in Africa where the number of vehicles is limited to 20 per day. Do people want to see other vehicles or do they want to see the wildlife ??

Lord Wolfstein Wednesday, 25 October 2017 01:21 PM

This is not enough to protect a national park. Only 100 licenses should be awarded. Only jeeps that are not older than 3 years with the highest standard in environmental protection and safety should be allowed to travel on restricted roads. Each jeep must have a GPS transmitter so that the authorities can monitor the vehicles. It must be ensured that the owners of the jeep also pay taxes from the income in addition to the license fees. The drivers would have to undergo a special wildlife training to be allowed to travel in national parks.

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Access to Yala: safari jeeps limited to 200 per day

Comments - 5

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