A pagoda-type cottage set up near RK Beach will soon offer a real insight into the flora and fauna with the Forest Department renovating and reviving the Environment Education Centre after a gap of seven years. The aesthetically designed two-room structure with open space on the road adjoining the beachfront will educate visitors, particularly children, on nature and the amazing and incredible diversity of the flora and fauna.
The EEC, which was originally launched in 2000, was closed in 2007 due to criticism over maintenance.
The most popular attraction at that place, a giant tiger replica, was later shifted to Kambalakonda Nature Park opposite the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park.
Now, an imposing tiger statue has been put up outside the pagoda. With design and statues made with fibre by artist Ravi Chandra, several animals and birds put up in the pagoda are bound to become a big hit. The brief history of these species will be written on the walls to give an insight into their lifestyle and the need to protect them.
“We want to make it a new tourist attraction of Visakhapatnam, which is fast emerging as a popular destination for nature lovers,” Divisional Forest Officer Rammohan Rao told The Hindu .
The EEC could not be inaugurated due to the election code. There are indications that it may be thrown open to public on June 5, coinciding with the World Environment Day celebrations.
The EEC will house statues of black duck, bison, pangolin, crocodile, python, and just-born baby elephant. It also has fibre-made trees to provide the green effect. It will remain open during daytime. “It will have separate sections for aquatic and terrestrial species in the midst of real forest environment,” said Sub-Divisional Forest Officer A.V. Ramana Murthy.
