Chamarajanagar: Tourists passing through the Bandipur National Park always hope to catch a glimpse of an elephant or other wildlife. But should they happen to halt their cars or bikes to take a good look at an animal they may have spotted, they may have to cough up fines of between Rs 500 and Rs 5, 000, and even give a letter of apology. “The letter of apology is to make the drivers realise their mistake and create awareness about forest laws,” says a forest officer, explaining that the fines imposed are usually in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 and in rare cases go up to between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 if the violation is serious. Driver, Mani of Bengaluru, recalls he had to pay a fine of Rs 1000 for parking his car inside Bandipur to let his passengers have a close look at an elephant.
“They were my customers and insisted that I stop the car. So I did. But the officers fined me and allowed to us to continue our journey after I gave a letter of apology.” A group of friends, who were passing through Bandipur, paid an even heavier fine of Rs 5,000 for stopping their car on the roadside to take pictures of a herd of spotted deer. “We see people parking cars inside the park more often during vacations,” says ACF Anthony Mariyappa.
