Nayagarh district in Odisha which was known only for temples earlier, is now known for Badmul Nature camp in Satkosia Tiger Reserve.
Odisha Forest Department started an Ecotourism Project in 2016 at Badmul, a village in heart of Satkosia Tiger Reserve on the bank of river Mahanadi as a Community based Nature Tourism destination.
The project named as Satkosia Sands Resort and Nature Camp with 9 tents on sandbar of river Mahanadi and 7 cottages on the mountain slope is situated overlooking the mighty Satkosia Gorge.
From revenue income of Rs 27 lakh in 2016-17 and Rs 60 Lakh in 2017-18 it went up Rs 1.3 crore in 2018-19 with 3000 odd visitors ,20 per cent of them from Germany, France and Britain visiting the camp.
For the first time in history any village could have earned such an amount from any kind of Community projects. The success story also speaks about the secret treasures of State and the potential Odisha carries for sustainable Ecotourism with landscapes like Similipal, Satkosia, Bhitarkanika, Chilika, Phulbani,Koraput, official said here.
As on today 40 Community Managed Nature Camps are functioning across the state with different biological importance.
This financial year Odisha Ecotourism projects have earned a total revenue of Rs 5.6 Crore till date giving employment to more than 1000 forest dependent villagers.
Around 90 per cent of the revenue generated from ecotourism goes to local community who are the stake holders of those projects. (UNI)
