Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has promised to restore the natural beauty of the Indira Zoological Park which was devastated by the cyclone Hudhud by appointing a consultant to develop the zoo on the lines of the Singapore Zoo.
The Chief Minister made a whirlwind survey of the sprawling expanse of the zoo from his car on Sunday evening and was shocked at the destruction of huge trees, enclosures and other structures by the gales. He stopped for a while at the two entry points to the zoo and spoke to officials and workers who were chopping the fallen trunks of trees with power saws and other tools.
Zoo Curator G. Ramalingam explained to the Chief Minister that the zoo was set amidst natural settings as nowhere else in the country. Around 3,000 trees in the sprawling 625-acre campus were destroyed. Power connection was yet to be restored while water was being supplied through tankers by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).
Rumours scotchedMr. Chandrababu Naidu enquired about the safety of large animals like lions, tigers, jaguars, and cheetahs. The Curator told him that they were all moved to the night crawl as a precautionary measure ahead of the cyclone and they were all safe and scotched the rumours that big cats escaped from the zoo.
The Chief Minister suggested the use of modern machines like power tools and heavy machinery like earth movers and tippers for clearance of the chopped logs and fallen trees early. He also advocated rejuvenation of top broken trees and directed the zoo authorities to take up landscaping to restore the green cover quickly.
“The animals would be brought out from the night enclosures in the next few days. We plan to open the zoo for visitors by October 31,” Mr. Ramalingam told the media.
Ministers Narayana and Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu accompanied the Chief Minister.
Additional Principal Conservators of Forests S.K. Chotray and K.S. Reddy, Conservator of Forests Bharat Kumar, Conservator of Forests Suryanarayana, Logging DFO (Rajahmundry) Subhadra Devi and DFO Rammohan were among those who received the Chief Minster at the zoo.
