The bamboo cottage at the Dalma wildlife sanctuary will be made available by the authorities for tourists from April, while all the resorts are already booked after the elephant abode re-opened post-pandemic earlier this month.

Orders for upholstery for the bamboo furnitures inside the facility will be shortly placed before it is formally opened.

Dalma range officer (West) Dinesh Chandra said the cottage was ready to be let out to the tourists. "It will be a major attraction for visitors who want to spend quality time amid natural surroundings. Upholstery on furniture will be completed soon and the facility will open next month," he added.

Built at a cost of Rs 7 lakh under an eco-tourism project, the cottage is situated adjacent to the plush AC and non-AC accommodations at Makulakocha.

A forester said funds for the upholstery has already been sanctioned and work would start at the earliest. "Fund for upholstery is not an issue now," he added on condition of anonymity.

The cottage has two bedrooms, a drawing-cum-dining room, two attached toilets, bamboo furniture, a veranda in the front and landscaping near it. The facility is implemented by the state forest department.

Plans are on to install air-conditioners at the facility which will add to the comfort quotient. The facility is all set to be a huge attraction for tourists from Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Another bamboo cottage is also located near the main entrance but it is yet to be commissioned and the facility is not yet completed.

Tourists visit Dalma sanctuary mainly to watch elephants. They will not be disappointed now since the jumbos are presently scattered across the sanctuary after their return from the jungles of West Midnapore and Bankura in neighbouring Bengal.

They will have ample opportunities to click pictures of jumbos near the watering holes and can also visit the shiva temple on the hill top from where they can enjoy a panoramic view of the sanctuary.