Jaipur: The open-top safari truck coughed, rattled, stopped. Twenty tourists sat trapped in Ranthambore’s Zone-6 – a 25sqkm territory locals call “three-tiger country”. Time: 6pm. Darkness set in and the forest closed in. Panic spread. Parents whispered words of comfort to shush their crying children.For an hour and 45 minutes Saturday evening, the group remained stranded. Among those stuck was a seven-month-old child. Their guide allegedly deserted them, taking a lift out with another vehicle. By 7pm, no relief had come.With no mobile network to summon help, tourist Mohit hailed another vehicle returning from a trip. There’s room for only one. He reached the main gate and begged for help. At the chowki, staff told him it wasn’t their responsibility. A Canter driver allegedly demanded full payment before agreeing to assist.Rescue finally arrived around 7.45pm. The replacement Canter had no working headlights. The driver steered through the jungle with a torch. Children cried as the forest went pitch black. An audio recording of a woman tourist’s call, made after she reached safety, recounted the ordeal. “Fortunately, no wild animal appeared,” she said. Ranthambore is home to 70 tigers and about 130 leopards.The broken Canter may have spared its passengers a brush with the wild – but it left the national park’s safari system fully exposed. A senior official said Sunday the truck broke down during the evening safari. Another Canter, meant to be on standby at the chowki, was absent. A third Canter, which had already returned, was instructed to bring the marooned group but failed to follow orders. Forest department banned all three Canter drivers and the accompanying guide until further orders. An inquiry has been ordered, with the assistant conservator of forests (tourism) directed to submit a report in three days.The department also reviewed the age and condition of safari vehicles. Ranthambore currently has 556 registered vehicles for tourism: 269 Gypsies and 287 Canters. Authorised vehicles are either locally owned and registered with the forest department or department-owned, with private operators managing bookings.Hoteliers and conservation stakeholders warned that many Canters are in rundown condition. “Some owners avoid spending on maintenance… expecting the vehicles will be phased out,” a tour operator said Monday. “A dedicated rescue vehicle must always be stationed.”Tourists came to see the wild, but none of Ranthambore’s tigers showed up. Instead, they saw the cracks in the system – in full, frightening darkness.
