Kendrapara: After remaining shut for nine days starting January 15, Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) reopens its gates for visitors from Sunday.
According to BNP sources, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will be among the visitors Sunday. The minister had spent a night at the eco retreat at the Bhitarkanika Saturday.
Notably, in order to facilitate the annual crocodile census, BNP was closed for tourists and visitors from January 15 to 23.
Since chances of the meticulous process of estuarine crocodile census getting affected are high, the park was kept out of bounds for visitors. This year as many as 22 teams carried out the census in creeks, nullahs and rivers within the BNP area and its nearby areas.
Notably, Bhitarkanika is said to be accommodating over 70 per cent of the total estuarine crocodile (saltwater crocodile) count in the country. Conservation of the crocodiles was started in the year 1975.
PNN