A tourist was seriously injured when he fell off a speeding electric jeep that lost its balance while taking a a sharp turn in the Jhalana Leopard Safari Park in Jaipur. The tourist was identified at Arvind Pareek of Bani Park area of Jaipur who had gone for the leopard safari on Tuesday evening.
He was travelling in the electric vehicle which was moving at high speed. The driver lost control while maneuvering a sharp turn at the Lala Kund area and Pareek and his niece who were in the jeep were thrown off.
Pareek sustained a head injury and a fracture in his hand. He was taken to hospital where his condition is said to be serious. The small girl suffered only a slight injury and was discharged from hospital after first aid.
Range officer Janeshwar Singh said the accident was unfortunate. He said Pareek haa stood up in the moving vehicle to get something from his bag and was thrown off at the turn. “We will take adequate measure to ensure such unfortunate accidents are not repeated. A forester has been deputed to look after the injured tourist. We will send a report to the DFO to seek action against the driver.”
The Safari Park spread over 23 sq km is home to 30-35 leopards as well as other animals such as spotted deer, blue bulls, wild boars and migratory birds.
The safari was started in 2016. The contract for the jeeps in the safari has been given to a private company and there have been complaints from tourists earlier about the drivers - some of whom are not properly trained. Tourists say that facing the pressure of ensuring leopard sightings, jeep drivers often turn carelessly and drive at high speed, posing a danger to tourists.
