Hyderabad: Bandipur Forest Department has levied a fine of Rs 25,000, each, on Andhra Pradesh tourists who exited their vehicles and endangered their lives while on a tour in the Bandipur National Park.
On February 11, two tourists had a narrow escape after a wild elephant chased them in their attempt to take a selfie. The video, of the incident, from the national park, went viral.
In the video, the two men are seen stepping down from their vehicle in the middle of the Bandipur National Park, near Moolehole, to click pictures. They are engrossed in the activity when the wild elephant can be seen running towards them from behind.
One falls down while being chased by the elephant. In the next instance, the elephant tries to stomp the fallen man but then turns around and leaves. Thus, the man is saved by a hair’s breadth. Following the incident, the Bandipur Forest Department swiftly launched an investigation into the incident.
“Trespassing on prohibited forest land is punishable with up to three years or a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh or both. Soon after the video went viral we launched an investigation and managed to find tourists through car number,” Bandipur National Park field director, Dr A B Ramesh Kumar, told Siasat.com.
Based on media reports and inquiries conducted by the Bandipur Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) and Moohole Range Forest Officer (RFO), the department identified Murti, as one of the tourists involved, and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 for stepping down the vehicle in Bandipur National Park.
To prevent similar incidents in the future, the department has implemented a ban on parking vehicles within the forest area, recognizing the potential risk posed by animal encounters.
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