Lakhimpur Kheri/ Pilibhit, Oct 31 (IANS): The opening of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) and the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) from November 1 has been deferred due to road damage in the recent floods in Terai region.

The two reserves were scheduled to reopen for the public from November 1.

The last tourism season was also cut short due to heavy rains and the second wave of Covid-19.

DTR field director Sanjay Pathak said, "We are now working hard to ensure that the reserve opens for tourists from November 15. Water from overflowing rivers has washed away several roads. We are trying to get these repaired as early as possible."

PTR deputy director Naveen Khandelwal said, "We had initially planned to open the park for tourists on November 1, and had even started receiving bookings, but heavy rains in Terai and Uttarakhand created a flood situation in Pilibhit. Many areas are still waterlogged. We will try to repair all the Safari routes by the first week of November. If it doesn't rain, we will most probably open the park for tourists from November 15."

Tourists, who had made bookings for these two reserves, are expectedly disappointed.

The Singh family in Lucknow had planned a family vacation during Diwali in Dudhwa.

"Some of our relatives had even started coming but now we will have to stay back in Lucknow and have a family get together here," said Piyush Singh, a young executive.