Gandhinagar, Feb 16 (PTI) An open jungle safari will be developed at Barda Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat's Porbandar district, state tourism minister Mulu Bera said on Friday.

He was replying to a question in the Assembly from Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia regarding development of tourism in Porbandar.

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"The state government plans to develop an open jungle safari at Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, which at present has four to five lions. More lions will be introduced. Several other animals, including sambhar, are present there," Bera said.

A proposal to develop 'Gandhi corridor' in Porbandar, the birthplace of the Father of the Nation, has also been sought from the collector, while tenders have been issued to develop Mokarsagar lake there as an iconic tourist spot, he informed the House.

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As per a document titled 'Project Lion: Lion @47 vision for Amrutkal,' Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, located near the coastal city of Porbandar and 100 kilometres from the Gir National Park, was identified as a potential second home for Asiatic lions.

Efforts have been underway since the 1990s to find a relocation site for the big cats within Gujarat.

The Barda-Alech hills and coastal forests have the potential to accommodate a population of 40 adult and sub-adult lions, as per the document.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in 2020, the number of Asiatic lions in Gir forests has gone up from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020.

The lions have moved to forested patches through conducive corridors and are now distributed in nine districts, namely Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Surendranagar.

This region, which covers an area of 30,000 square kilometres, is termed as the 'Asiatic Lion Landscape'.

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