The Times of India 06.09.2010
PCMC run Bahinabai Chaudhary zoo at Akurdi
PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will transfer control of the Bahinabai Chaudhary zoo, located at Akurdi, from the garden department to the veterinary department to improve the zoo’s administration and ensure better facilities to the animals.
Speaking to TOI, Ashish Sharma, municipal commissioner, said, “The letter in this regard is being prepared and I will sign the order in a couple of days.”
Members of the standing committee expressed concern about the administration of the zoo at the weekly meeting held on Wednesday, while discussing the death of a female leopard at the zoo. They had complained that the animals were being given inferior quality food. The members demanded that the control of the zoo be transferred to the veterinary department to improve its condition.
Meanwhile, Subhash Dumbre, additional commissioner said, “The Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI) has granted small zoo status to the Bahinabai Chaudhary zoo. The PCMC had submitted a master plan for the zoo’s development to the CZAI, which was approved one and a half years ago. The PCMC had incurred an expenditure of Rs 1.5 lakh to prepare the master plan and the union government has reimbursed this expenditure recently.”
The total cost of implementation of the master plan is around Rs 15 crore over a period of five years. The total cost of development comprises Rs 2.07 crore for the building, Rs 3.37 crore for basic amenities and Rs 9.46 crore for wildlife related works (for example, cages and veterinary care facilities). The PCMC will receive Rs 5 crore as grant from the CZAI.
The zoo will have around 20 types of reptiles, 3 types of amphibians and 10 species of water birds. It will have a breeding centre for endangered amphibians, a lake for water birds and an enclosure for crocodiles and alligators. There will also be a butterfly collection and breeding centre, a museum of models of extinct animals and a nature and interpretation centre.
Currently the PCMC-run Bahinabai Chaudhary zoo is spread over an area of seven acres and located in the Sambhajinagar area of Akurdi. There are three panthers, birds like the peafowl and peacock, varieties of snakes, a few crocodiles, ducks and a dozen monkeys.
In the 1990s, the zoo was located in a sparsely populated area. Now, however, houses and commercial complexes have come up around it, leaving no scope for the zoo’s expansion.
