Illegal bar inside Nagarahole tiger reserve

Bengaluru: The Jungle Retreat resort on the banks of the Kabini river, a lifeline of animals in the Nagarhole National Park, was in the dock not long ago for its night safaris. Now  the resort, run by a relative of excise minister, Satish Jharakiholi, has been slapped with a notice for allegedly selling liquor to villagers and outsiders when its permit allows it to only serve it to its guests.

Tipped off by self-help groups, the D B Kuppe gram panchayat, H D Kote taluk, has in its notice to the resort warned that it could be shut down if it continued to sell alcohol to outsiders in violation of its permit.  

Wildlife conservationists point out that the resort has a CL7 licence under which only guests staying on its property can be served liquor. But over the last one month it has been selling liquor in the open although it does not have a CL2 licence to do so, they claim. “Even on New Year’s eve a large amount of liquor was sold to outsiders and revellers were seen sitting and drinking on the jungle roads nearby.

The party continued till the early morning of January 1, but no government official could stop it for fear of angering the minister,” claims one conservationist, alleging that forest officials  too are turning a blind eye to the illegal sale of liquor by the resort because a minister’s relative is involved.

“The resort does not have a permit from the National Board for Wildlife and environmentalists in Kerala fear that if it is not closed, it may even start serving wild meat to its guests.

About 80 per cent of the guests coming to this resort are from areas in Kerala where wild meat is in high demand,” says a conservationist from Waynad. Located between Nagarhole and Waynad reserves, the resort  was once ordered to be shut down by the Kerala government, which accused it of disturbing  the wildlife in the area, especially elephants.