Wildlife enthusiasts across the world will soon be able to view animals at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park at Vandalur through live-streaming on the internet, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said on the floor of the House in a series of suo moto announcements on Thursday.
“Arrangements will be made to install infra-red cameras in about 20 important enclosures in the Zoo to enable people to see these animals round the clock online. This will entail an expenditure of Rs. 50 lakh. The move will also help zoo authorities to monitor these animals,” Ms. Jayalalithaa said.
The government will also set up a ‘tree park’ spanning eight hectares on the Vandalur-Kelambakkam road at a cost of Rs. 2 crore, she said. “Between 2013 and 2015, Tamil Nadu saw the highest growth of forests and areas under green cover. There are about 5,640 flora species in Tamil Nadu, of which about 230 are nearly extinct. Hence, these have to be protected,” the Chief Minister said. The tree park will come up under the guidance of the Forest Research Institute and will contain 300 tree species to protect forest genetic resources, she said.
Ms. Jayalalithaa also announced that women living in villages surrounding forest areas will be trained in cultivating medicinal plants. “Women Entrepreneurship Groups will be formed and through these, medicinal plants will be grown and sold. The scheme to grow “homemade herbal gardens” will be started in the first phase in Salem, Dharmapuri and Namakkal.” The government will also set up a “forest tree seeds centre” in Tiruchi, she said.
