Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday official notified Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district as a National Park.
“…all claims made in relation to any land in the said area have been disposed of by the state government and all rights in respect of lands which shall comprise within the National Park have become vested in the state government. Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (4) of section 35 of the said Act, the state government do hereby specify that the area described in Schedules shall comprise within the National Park and declare the said area as a National Park to be known as Similipal National Park with effect from the date of publication of this notification in the Odisha Gazette,” the official notification issued by the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department said.
This will be the second National Park in the state after Bhitarkanika National Park.
Similipal, spread over 2,750 sq km, was formally designated as a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in May 1973. It was declared a biosphere reserve in June, 1994. It is characterised by undulating hilly terrain, high plateaus, and deep valleys. Waterfalls like Barehipani and Joranda steal the breath with their sheer grandeur.
It is home to a variety of wildlife, including Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, gaur, and chousingha.