In a bid to attract more tourists to Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, forest officials are soon going to make adventure sports facilities available at the Dhamapur lake which is close to the reserve here.

“To promote tourism, Dhamapur lake which is near the sanctuary will be developed into a oxbow lake and facilities of rafting, kayaking, yatching, speed boats and water scooters will be made available here,” Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Ashish Tiwari told PTI.

The objective is to attract more and more tourists to the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, he added

As per Supreme Court order, he said, 16 per cent area of the sanctuary has been identified for ecotourism where only 38 four-wheelers are allowed in a day so that natural habitat of animals does not get disturbed.

For the tourists, besides construction of new guest houses, swiss cottages are also being made, the DFO said.

Dolphins, ghariyals, crocodiles, leopards, tigers and different species of deers reside in the sanctuary. Vultures and flying squirrels, considered to be rare, also attract a number of tourists to the sanctuary, he added.