Plans to develop zoo stuck in limbo

Procedural knots and financial crunch come in the way of developing Vana Vignana Kendra

Warangal: It is not that the authorities are blind to the need for more animals in the Vana Vignana Kendra here, the only zoo in Telangana apart from Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, but a number of proposals made in recent years remain stuck in either procedural knot or in fund crunch.

Be it upgradation of the zoo to the international standards or doubling of geographical area of the zoo or setting up of an exclusive bear safari, all the plans to bring wildlife close to people are stuck in limbo.
When the zoo was inaugurated on January 16, 1985 by the then AP Governor Shankar Dayal Sharma, it was a mini-zoo. Later, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) upgraded it as a small zoo in 2014.

Weighing the potential of the zoo being developed into a major one in the State, the Forest authorities proposed to acquire adjacent scrubby 70-odd acres encompassing Padmakshi Temple hillocks. The district administration, which also gave its nod a couple of years ago, is yet to hand over the land to Forest Department.

“Though a preliminary survey was conducted some time ago, a joint survey (by Forest and Revenue wings) of the land will be conducted in a few days,” P Punnamchander, the Kothaguda Range-1 Forest Officer, who is also the head of the zoo, told The Hans India.

Though there was a steady increase in the numbers of visitors in the last few years, the only major change in the zoo was improvement of greenery around. Barring addition of a few animals here and then, the development of the zoo was not so fascinating especially when compared to the swelling number of visitors from around 1 lakh in the last few years to well over 2.17 lakh in 2014-15.

The zoo, through its gate collections, also generated revenue of over Rs 1 crore in the last decade with around 12 lakh wildlife lovers descending on it. Divisional Forest Officer K Purushotham said: “We are waiting for the CZA’s nod to add panthers to the zoo.

The construction of an enclosure for the big cat is almost completed.” This apart, efforts are on to add mouse deer (Chevrotains), jungle cat (Felis chaus) and giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) to the existing collection of the zoo, he added.

In all, the zoo has 412 animals. This includes four each bear sloth and jackal, 78 spotted deer, 17 deer sambar, six black buck, 11 antelope and three nilgai, besides 46 reptiles and 243 birds. The exclusive ‘butterfly park’ and the only natural incubation centre for ostriches in entire South India are the highlight of the zoo.