Potential of Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary untapped

VARANASI: Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary, once a habitat of Asiatic lions, the sanctuary, located between Chakia and Naugarh in Chandauli district, is spread in an area of 9,600 hectares of forests having a core area of 2686 hectares and buffer area of 66,000 hectares. It has all natural ingredients to become a tourist hotspot.
In the past, when naxal problem was not there people used to flock and enjoy the jungle beauty particularly in rainy and winter seasons when waterfalls add to the lush green environment.It is endowed with beautiful picnic spots, dense forests, and scenic waterfalls like Rajdari and Devdari. Finding it a fit habitat, three Asiatic lions were introduced at Chandraprabha in 1957. However, the lions were found missing after 1970.
According to PP Verma, the forest officer of the Kashi Wildlife Division, the sanctuary has a variety of wild animals and plants including leopard, black bucks, chital, sambhar, nilgai, and wild boar. A remarkable growth in the population of some beasts like leopard and boar was seen in past 3-4 years. We saw a leopard and two sabhars moving in the forest on Thursday, Verma told TOI.