The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), the world’s first zoo to get funding from the World Bank as part of the AP Disaster Recovery Project (APDRP) post cyclone Hudhud, is all set for a major facelift.
This will be the first big project to be carried out at the zoo park, after Hudhud’s devastating trail that left a compounding effect on the infrastructure and facilities over the years.
Under the APDRP, ₹36 crore has been allocated to the zoo for carrying out redevelopment work. After a delay of over two years, the Forest Department and zoo park have entered into an agreement with a Chhattisgarh-based consultant to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DRP) following which the project will be kick-started. “On June 20, a consultant was finalised and agreement was made with M/s Learn Nature Consultants, who will be adhering to the World Bank norms to prepare the DRP in the next six months following which the work will begin at the zoo park,” Chief Conservator of Forest Rahul Pandey has told The Hindu.
The DRP will be broadly divided into four categories – improvement of day and night kraals that includes construction of new night enclosures for primates, internal design and furniture modification of moats, improvement and enhancement of visitors’ amenities and finally one of the critical areas to be addressed is interpretation of the zoo.
“This is one area where we will take expert suggestions from educational research organisations who have the expertise in the field. The plan is to showcase the evolution of life and the animal kingdom including a detailed interpretation designed for animal enclosures. There will be one interpretation theme each for primates, carnivores, reptiles and herbivores,” he added.
Top class material which is scratch-proof, weather resistant and can withstand the effect of vandalism will be used in the interpretation theme designs. One interpretation centre at the gate entrance is also being considered.
Incidentally, an interpretation centre at the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve led by Mr. Pandey during his previous stint has received global acknowledgement for its scientific approach in presenting bilingual interpretation of evolution of life from coral reefs, amphibians to dinosaur era and birds and mammals. That project was carried out at a cost of ₹40 lakh.
“Funds were an issue there and we tried to do our best within the budget. Similar effort will be made in consultation with DPR at Vizag zoo,” says Mr. Pandey.
Night enclosures
New night enclosures will be built for tigers, leopard, cheetah and jaguar that are in a bad shape at present and a separate day kraal for elephants is being designed with inputs from the Chennai-based Tree Foundation at a cost of ₹80 lakh which will be a part of the DPR.
