Nagpur: Lack of competent staff at the entry gates of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) proved costly for a group of tourists who were sent to buffer zone on a ticket for core.According to complainant Bhalchandra Khare, a resident of Pratap Nagar, he booked morning safari for November 11, from Navegaon gate under Tatkal quota for Rs 4,050.Khare reached the gate at 6.45am and showed the ticket and IDs of the group but the staff at the entry gate sent the group to buffer zone. “We learnt about it only when the guide started explaining about the forest and said that we were in the buffer zone of Tadoba,” said Khare.“I objected to it and told the guide that I had booked safari for core area but he refused to listen to me and took us in buffer zone forcibly. I spoke to the person who had booked safari for me and he too realized that we were cheated,” said Khare.Khare alleged that some other party may have entered the park in his name.“It was really disappointing as my 70-year-old mother and brother, who had come from Pune specially for the Tadoba trip, were accompanying me. In buffer, we could not even sight a single deer and the trip was a big flop,” he said.Talking to TOI, TATR field director and conservator of forests NR Praveen said, “I have received the complaint and the person concerned at the counter will be removed. Besides, we will also return the excess money Khare was charged.”“The online ticket doesn’t display core and buffer on it. It can only be gauged from the entry fee, which is Rs600 for buffer,” said Praveen.

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