The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani on Tuesday inaugurated a lion safari park at Ambardi village in Gujarat’s Amreli district. He said that the park will help the area to develop into a tourist hub.

The park which is spread over 400 hectares of land will have three zoo-bred lions for public viewing in the forest environment. It will help to reduce the tourist load of the existing Gir National Park.

The latest census carried out by the state forest department in 2015 revealed that Gujarat is home to 523 Asiatic lions in the Gir forest and other areas in Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts.

The CM believes that the lion safari park will help the area emerge as a tourist hub. He added that the park will attract a large number of visitors as devotees from across the country have been visiting the famous temple of Khodiyar goddess located in the area. He further said that the park will also provide job opportunities to local youth, hotels for accommodating the tourists and promoting the business of hired taxis in the area.

The central government approved the project in June this year. Currently, there are three lions along with 250 deer for public viewing in the new park. The forest department aims to increase the number of lions for public viewing to eight, for which permission will be sought from the Central Zoo Authority in future.