With the online booking for jungle safari in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur stopped owing to a financial scam, resort, gypsy and taxi bookings for after Diwali, Christmas and New Year holidays have taken a hit.
According to the complaint filed by the forest department, Wild Connectivity Solutions (WCS), the company responsible for online booking, cheated them to the tune of Rs 12 crore. As the dispute has reached court, the court has ordered stopping of safari bookings till the matter is resolved.
Meanwhile, businesses dependent on tourism have sought an alternate way to book.
THE SCAM
There are 338 gypsies in the tiger reserve for the jungle safari. Mytadoba.org is the website used to book safaris.
The financial malpractice came to light after gypsy drivers claimed they were not paid for June and July, as the WCS ran out of money. The agency owes the gypsy drivers Rs3-4 crore, according to the government.
Moreover, despite repeated follow-ups, of the total due amount of Rs 22.80 crore, the WCS has paid only Rs 10.65 crore to the government over three years, the forest department recently revealed. The drivers alleged that the same person was responsible for not handing over the money collected from the bookings to the Tadoba administration and them.
Acting on the complaint filed by Divisional Forest Officer Sachin Shinde, a case of fraud has been filed against the agency’s directors — Abhishek VinodKumar Thakur and Rohit VinodKumar Thakur.
The Tadoba administration admitted to their delay in collecting money, attributing it to the need to calculate earnings for the year after Tadoba’s closure from July 1.
Comments
0 comment