Byculla zoo finally receives design approval from CZA

The Veermata Jijabai Bhosle Udyan, better known as Byculla Zoo, has finally received approval in principle on its enclosure designs from the Central Zoo Authority in New Delhi. With the ongoing restoration of the heritage site set to be completed by the end of this month, the zoo authorities will soon invite tenders for the long-pending renovation of the zoo's enclosures.

"The new enclosures have been designed as per the CZA guidelines with increased space and inclusion of acrylic glass panels in most enclosures where new moats have not been allowed to be built by the CZA. The enclosures should be ready by August this year as part of the first phase of the renovation," said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, deputy superintendent of the zoo and chief veterinarian.

According to the layout plan of the renovation design, the alignment of the existing roads and central axis in the premises will not change. Twenty-four new enclosures are to be constructed and they will house 18 Indian and five exotic species in addition to some of the existing animals at the zoo.

One of the new additions will be a small cat complex which will house species of wild cat such as the leopard, jungle cat, Common Civet, Palm Civet and Large Indian Civet. The bird and reptile enclosures will be placed next to each other.

New improved public amenities are on the bill in addition to construction of an interpretation centre, zoo hospital, new boundary walls and a well-equipped entrance plaza. "The entrance plaza has already received all necessary approvals and the work has started. It will have better ticketing systems, better security with baggage screening and will be manned by police personnel instead of normal security guards," said Tripathi.

Renovation of the century-old zoo had been on the charts since 2005 and the condition of the zoo has worsened since. It was only in 2012 that the master layout plan was approved by the CZA, propelling the much delayed plan into action.

The zoo does not figure as one of the country's well managed zoos and requires a lot of improvement according to the CZA member secretary BS Bonal. "One of the main things the zoo needs to incorporate and maintain is a natural environment inside the enclosures as well as outside it. They did a good job of the bird enclosures and we want them to do the same for the rest. We have also denied their request for more animals, limiting the number to space available", said Bonal explaining that timely progress of the plan will determine the efficiency of the zoo officials.

karishma.goenka@dnaindia.net.

Exotic animals:
The Mafatlal mill area of 7 acres has been allotted by the CZA for exotic species which will include emus, hippopotamuses, jaguars, zebras and the Humboldt Penguin. This particular enclosure will take a little longer to ready as a separate master plan has to be created and submitted to the CZA for approval.

Existing animals you might not see in the new zoo:
The existing animals will be retained, shifted to another zoo or released in the wild. The ones not included in the new plan are the Himalayan Black Bear, Rhesus and Bonnet monkeys, Indian One-horned Rhinoceros and the elephants (Laxmi and Anarkali).

What next?
-Construction of the entrance plaza with new ticketing systems, baggage screening and police personnel for security.
-Invitation of tenders for construction of the renovated enclosures and other public amenities.
-Preparation of a master plan for the exotic animal enclosure.
- Preparation of a 20-year management plan for the zoo to be submitted to the Central Zoo Authority.