Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) on 9 May 2016 received the Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award. The award was presented by the Lonely Planet Group.



Actress Amy Jackson presented the award to MPT at a function held in Mumbai.

On behalf of MPT Chairman, his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Vinod Kumar Amar received the award.

Wildlife in Madhya Pradesh

• As per the estimates of Forest Survey of India published in the State of Forest Report (SFR) 2003, the total forest cover of M.P. is 24.79% of the land area.

• One third of the state is forested and offers an exciting panorama of wildlife.

• Madhya Pradesh has 25 wild life sanctuaries including nine National Parks. Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, and Satpura National Park are managed as project tiger areas.

• Ghatigaon sanctuary is managed for great Indian bustard or Son Chiriya.

• Barasingha is the state animal and dudhraj is the state bird of Madhya Pradesh.

• The state has also launched number of programmes for the conservation of flora and fauna because of which Kanha and Pench were regarded as the most beautiful national parks in Asia.

About Lonely Planet

• Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book publisher in the world.

• The company is owned by American billionaire Brad Kelley's NC2 Media, which bought it in 2013 from BBC Worldwide for 77 million US dollar.

• Originally called Lonely Planet Publications, the company changed its name to Lonely Planet in July 2009.

• As of 2014, Lonely Planet's largest office is located in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1 Current Affairs App