Alert: Planning to celebrate 31st December Near Forest Areas May Face Action

Action will be taken by the forest department on New Year’s Eve parties on the forts, hills, forest areas near the city, and sanctuaries.

Keeping in mind the disturbance expected from rowdy tourists due to the three-day consecutive holidays, the forest department has banned ‘celebrations’ by pitching tents, staying in protected areas, at the foot of the forts.

The Forest Department staff along with Joint Forest Management Committee workers will patrol the hills & forts of Pune including Tamhini, Mulshi, Sinhagad, Lonavala at night.

In the past few years, due to the regulations and actions announced by the city administration, the number of people who go to the ‘celebration’ of December 31 outside the city, in secluded places, in the forest area, has increased. Tourist get-togethers have increased by pitching illegal tents on forts, foothills, and reserved forest areas.

As some irregularities have come to light, the forest department has increased its night patrolling on 31st December in the reserve forest areas, hills for the last two years. Action has been taken against parties held in protected areas. This year too, due to the addition of three days of holidays from Saturday to Monday, there are signs of an increase in the number of tourists.

A senior official of the Archaeology Department said that since Saturday to Monday is a consecutive holiday for many this year, tourists are likely to visit the state protected forts of Sinhagad, Rajgad and Torna in large numbers on New Year’s Eve. As a security measure along these lines, they are going to send a letter to the Senior Police Inspector of Velhe Police Station and demand that proper action should be taken so that tourists do not stay overnight at the forts so that there is no breach of law and order at the forts.