Not so long ago, Pilibhit was known as the ‘City of Flutes’. The place was famous for some of the best wooden flutes made in the country. However, those days are gone. Now, it has become the home for tigers after the ‘Pilibhit Tiger Reserve’ was created in 2014. Although the tiger reserve generated new opportunities in tourism, it also brought with it the imminent dangers from man-animal conflict. This directly impacted the flute making industry. And people associated with this business slowly abandoned the profession as it didn’t seem profitable to them anymore.
However, despite this development, the District Collector of Pilibhit, Mr. Pulkit Khare sees a lot of possibilities for positive development in the area. And the 2010 batch IAS officer has taken various initiatives to give the district a new face.
In this video interview, he talks about the problems faced by the flute makers and why they are abandoning this profession. He shared his strategy to help them retain this age-old business while earning the best profits. He also revealed his plan for promoting Pilibhit Tiger Reserve as a wildlife tourism hub and addressing the problem of man-animal conflict with the help of community members.
