Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s only zoo, Nandankanan reopened for tourists on Tuesday after restoration work.
ACF (Sanctuary Management) Anjan Kumar Mohanty said, “Visitors have started coming to Nandankanan to see the animals and birds here. Many parts of the zoo were damaged during the devastating cyclone on May 3. The electricity network was also completely damaged. Most of the 263 cages in the zoo were partly damaged. But there was no causality among the animals.”
“We have repaired 213 cages completely. We have also restored water supply facility for the animals,” said Mohanty.
“We had shifted the animals to the safe cages before the cyclone. We had also stored four days food for them. We had prepared everything for the safety of the animals and there are no casualties,” he added.
“Though we have done restoration work, it will take time to revive the greenery of the zoo like before,” said Mohanty.
The devastating Cyclone Fani didn’t take long to destroy the zoo. The trees from the main gate to Daruthenga area got destroyed. The fallen trees have been cleared. The situation in the zoo premises is normal now.
Environmentalists say it will take 20 years to restore the trees, for which zoo guides, foresters and the forest department employees are putting their minds together.
The authorities had closed the zoo for 19 days due to the cyclone. During the past cyclones, the zoo had remained closed for five days.
Nandankanan houses over 3,000 animals belonging to 156 species. The adjoining State Botanical Garden (which, together with the zoo, forms a sanctuary), too, has been badly damaged.
Facilities meant for tourists and recreational areas for children were also damaged. The Forest and Environment Department has assessed losses of over Rs 537 crore.
Around nine lakh trees have been damaged in the forest and sanctuary areas and over five lakh trees were uprooted/damaged outside the forest area during the storm. Besides, eight lakh saplings were damaged.
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