Bhubaneswar: Nandankanan will be transformed into a world-class zoo under the 5T initiatives. Today, a presentation was made before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by the Forest Department for the overall transformation of Nandankanan Zoological Park in the city.
The Chief Minister approved the proposal and directed to completely ban the use of plastic in Nandankanan and advised to complete the work within the stipulated time frame. It is worth noting that the CM had ordered to prepare a plan for the transformation of Nandankanan during the forest department review on May 23.
The new plan envisages the development of additional improved visitor facilities, modern frontage and landscaping, tunnel aquarium, water bird aviary with new animals from abroad, immersive enclosures and nature education for children.
The two-phased transformation program will be implemented in the first phase from 2023 to 2025 and the second phase from 2025 to 2028. In the first phase, the zoo and botanical garden will be developed, while in the second phase, the Chudang forest area will be developed. It will develop night safari and safari complex.
There are plans to develop Nandankanan as an attractive hub on nature education for children. It has programs like ‘Nandankanan Club’ and ‘Zoo Ambassador’ in some special schools along with activity-based zoos, nature education. Along with this, various activities like Citizen Science, Know Your Trees will be done. Special programs like internships and zoo volunteers will be organized for children.
It is worth noting that there are currently 48 species of mammals, 77 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles and 6 species of amphibians in Nandankanan. There are a total of 4012 animals of 161 species. Now the country is planning to bring more animals from different places abroad. It is proposed to bring Hoolock Gibbon, Pig tailed Macaque, One horned Rhinoceros, Capped Langur, Spectacled Monkey, Clouded Leopard etc. from the northeastern region of the country. Similarly, there are proposals to bring Cassowary, Kangaroo, Wallby etc from Australia.
In this meeting, Chief Secretary PK Jena, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Satyabrat Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Forests and Environment, and Director of Nandankanan were present at the meeting.
