Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje inaugurated ‘tourist guest house’ and released two books ‘Wildlife Matters Rajasthan-2014-17’ and ‘India’s Elephants- A Cultural Legacy’in December 2017. On this occasion, the chief minister said the dream to provide all facilities to Mahout families and elephants is taking shape. The CM also observed the development work done at Hathi Gaon worth Rs 8 crore.
Hathi Gaon’ in Amber is set to become a major attraction of tourists and it will work for Mahouts to earn additional income, said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. CM Raje underlined the importance of the spot in terms of tourism. Claiming the place has been developed on the line of Thailand, CM Raje called upon Mahouts and tourists to utilize the services and amenities developed here spending nearly Rs8 crores. She added that the spot will provide an opportunity to the tourists to know elephants closely, observe their routine life and what they eat after rides in Amber. This, in her words, will boost income sources of the Mahouts. The CM said with the development of all the facilities and arrangements at one place, the number of tourists will increase and Mahout families would get the alternate source of income.
“This (the village) is a dream which came true. Thousands of tourists visit Amber. This village will provide you with another option to make good earning here. Feed elephants in front of tourists, ride them on the jumbo. In the guest house, there is the arrangement for stay and dining for the tourists as well,” said CM Raje who appreciated renovations works done by the forest and JDA. She also fed banana, jaggery and green fodder to the elephant named ‘Chanchal’.
On this occasion, the CM announced that entire Amber will get water from Bisalpur until February 2018. The agencies are working and old lines have been changed with new, we are sure to give water to Amber until February, said the CM who was attracted to the issue by BJP leader Satish Punia. ACS (tourism and forest) NC Goel, former DGP Ajit Singh was among those who graced the program.
Amber Fort and elephant rides are synonymous with each other. Every visitor who comes to Jaipur wants to visit Amber and take an elephant ride. Therefore, to improve the condition of these elephants, their abode ‘Hathi Gaon’ has been given a makeover. The gaon has now been made into another tourist attraction with development works being done by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and the department of the forest. There are about 113 elephants in this village. The place acts as a natural habitat for elephants.
