Civic body plans safari park at Mitmita

Arpita Sharad | TNN | Updated: Jul 17, 2019, 11:34 IST
AURANGABAD: A roaring Asiatic Lion and a majestic tiger will soon find a home near Mitmita in Aurangabad if the plan of the civic body to set up a safari gets sanctions.
The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Tuesday revealed the draft master plan for the Safari Park project on 50 hectare earmarked for the project in Mitmita area. It will house white tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard, jaguar, civets, sloth bear, hippopotamus and ostrich among other animals.
The Aurangabad Wild Animals Park (AWAP) or Aurangabad Safari (AS) will be developed as a medium category zoo. It will be home to around 500 animals of over 60 species. The safari is expected to receive over 10 lakh visitors a year.
Municipal commissioner Nipun Vinayak said, “The plan will be submitted to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for approval and then the funding options will be explored.”
Civic officials and the project management consultancy that prepared the plan gave a detailed presentation to the AMC office-bearers, officials and media.
Brij Raj Sharma, former member secretary of CZA, Saroj Kumar Patnaik, zoo designing specialist, Rommel Mehta, landscaping and zoo architecture specialist, L N Acharjyo, wildlife pathology and animal husbandry specialist, D Swarup, wildlife healthcare specialist and B C Choudhury, conservation education & research specialist have prepared the plan for the safari.
The existing zoo, Siddharth Garden & Zoo, has repeatedly failed to comply with the rules and regulations of the CZA. The panel of experts found that limited space and dense human landscape surrounding the Siddharth Garden & Zoo provided little scope of improvement. Once the safari at Mitmita takes shape, the animals from this zoo will be shifted there.
The focus of the project is to showcase the biodiversity of Marathwada, conservation of local fauna species, educating visitors, research and following best practices in animal husbandry and welfare.
According to the CZA norms, the safari will house 40% species from Marathwada, 40% species from West-Central India, 10% species from the rest of India rest 10% from outside Indian subcontinent.
“Most of the animal housings will be open top/air enclosures. Primates and birds will only be kept in caged enclosures and most of the viewing will be through glass barriers. Moat will be avoided on lower slopes taking advantage of natural topographic drops on the site,” Brij Raj Sharma said during the presentation.
The project will include a plant nursery, parking zone of 8.6 acre, entrance plaza (ticketing, cloak room), central plaza (open air theatre, food courts, souvenir shops) and central park. A veterinary hospital, nature interpretation centre with conference hall and library will be built within the premises.
“The AMC or a body specially created for the purpose will govern the AWAP. The municipal commissioner will be the administrative head and overall in-charge will be the zoo director,” Brij Raj Sharma said.
Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele said the plan would be sent immediately to CZA for its approval so that the process can be expedited. He said they were planning to create an elephant enclosure on 8.5 acres.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/civic-body-plans-safari-park-at-mitmita/articleshow/70250664.cms