The Nehru Zoological Park will have to stay shut for a few more days as the flooded Mir Alam Tank overflow is sweeping into the facility, according to zoo officials. The zoo was shut down yesterday and visitors were shooed away after water from the lake flowed into the zoo covering the paths inside as well as filling up the moats.
"There is no threat to animals or birds as they are in their night shelters and are being fed according to the routine. Only, they may not get the required exercise," said the zoo official.
The worst affected area appears to be the safari whose entrance had knee deep water on Friday and was gushing like a rivulet into adjacent areas of the zoo.
The dam wall abuts the enclosure for elephants. Zoo officials said the dam is a safe structure despite the seepage.
The Mir Alam dam was built under the supervision of Henry Russel of Madras Regiment and is a mile long structure with 21 granite arches. Built at a cost of Rs. 8 lakh, it was rumoured that the money for the structure came from the booty Mir Alam took after the fall of Seringapatnam. Incidentally, some fantastic gems worth Rs 11 lakh were gifted by Mir Alam after his return to Nizam. But Nizam's courtiers suspected that he might have ferreted away more, including a necklace of egg-sized pearls.
After it was finished on June 8, 1806 an inscription was plastered into the wall "In the name of God it flows and thank God it stands firmly (now the Persian inscription in basalt is no longer visible).
