With work underway at full tilt on the first phase of the mini zoo that will come up at Harinalaya, the deer park opposite gate 6 of Eco Park, the forest department has started preparing for a second phase.

“We have proposed a carnivore block. It will have tiger, hyena, wolf, leopard and wild dog,” Rabindranath Saha, conservator of forests, parks and gardens, and ex-officio general manager, green projects wing, West bengal Forest Development Corporation, told The Telegraph Salt Lake. “We have prepared the master plan and are sending it to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) with approval from the state zoo authority. Funds permitting, we will start work this year,” he added.

A Royal Bengal tiger

There are also plans for an aquarium and a snake house, said Vinod Kumar Yadav, principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife and chief wildlife warden, West Bengal.

In the open

The mini zoo, the authorities promise, will be nothing like what the city has seen. “The ambience will be completely natural. As much as 70 per cent of the area will be open air, in accordance with the latest CZA guidelines,” said Yadav.

Only for feeding and breeding will the tigers and leopards go indoors. “If we get the approval, we want to create a cave structure for the tiger. It will roam free behind iron fencing while people will be behind a glass partition. There will be a gap of about a foot and half between the toughened glass wall and the fencing. The top of the fencing will be energised, so that neither can anyone climb in nor can the big cat jump out,” Saha added.

The report on the zoo being sanctioned published on January 24, 2020

A leopard

The current Harinalaya is spread over 15 acres. Recently, the Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) has promised to hand over another 1.239 acres. “We will build a veterinary hospital, a food storage facility and a kitchen for the animals there,” said Yadav.

A zoo, he pointed out, has its own utility in facilitating nature education, raising awareness about animal welfare and undertaking research on various species. “The old idea of keeping animals in a cage is outdated. The modern concept is to give them space. The CZA guidelines clearly state which animal needs how much space,” Yadav added.

The forest department has plans for rainwater harvesting by opting for ground water recharge after treating the accumulated rain water. “This way we can compensate the huge volume of water the animals will require. The park will be completely lit by solar energy, thereby saving government funds as well as reducing our carbon footprint. Since New Town is a smart city, we want to gift it one of the most eco-friendly zoos in the country,” Saha said.

Since huge footfall is expected, there will be separate entry and exit. Visitor-friendly facilities have been planned like drinking water dispenser and a central cafeteria.

Going online

The deer park recently got broadband connection. “Hidco chairman Debashis Sen visited us and inaugurated the online ticketing system on July 6. Our website will be ready in a week. Once we reopen, visitors can book tickets online,” said range officer Biswanath Sengupta. Tickets to Harinalaya, currently closed due to the lockdown, cost Rs 30.

Green light for phase I

The first phase of the proposed mini zoo will have the herbivore block where giraffe, zebra, turtle and hippopotamus will be housed as well as two aviaries and crocodile enclosures, as was reported in The Telegraph Salt Lake on January 24, 2020. The two aviaries are for pheasantry and wild flying birds. “We will need to check which species are in surplus at Alipore, Darjeeling and Siliguri zoos. We can also get some under exchange programmes with outside zoos,” said Saha.

Work on five enclosures is almost over. “The master plan of the first phase has been approved by the CZA. Other than the herbivores, there will be separate water bodies for salt water crocodile and gharial. They cannot be kept together because of risk of in-fighting,” said Saha.

A mixed deer enclosure is also coming up which will have hog deer, swamp deer, black buck, mouse deer and sambar. “We already have two varieties of deer — barking and spotted — totalling 32,” said Yadav.

The authorities are hoping to open the mini zoo on completion of the first phase by November. The budget is Rs 4.5crore. “In future, we will start an animal breeding programme and a rescue centre. It will be part of our master plan. We will add things step by step as and when we get CZA approval,” Yadav said.

The park was handed over to the West Bengal Zoo Authority on August 1, 2017 by the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation. “We got approval from the CZA to set up a mini zoo here in May 2018,” said Sengupta.

The area was surveyed, keeping in mind how much space each animal would require, and a proposal was sent to the CZA regarding the mini zoo’s infrastructure in end-2018. But the pandemic caused a delay, he added.

With Eco Park next door and Mothers Wax Museum across the street, visitors, the authorities are hoping, will enjoy a full day’s activity once the mini zoo opens. “This will be the most happening part of the city,” said Saha.

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