Gorakhpur, Rajgir zoos get Centre nod

Team L&M

The Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda (Bihar) have got the nod of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) headed by Union Environment and Forests minister Prakash Javadekar.

The Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan, spread over 120-plus acres, is the second biggest zoo in the state of Uttar Pradesh after Kanpur Zoo. It aims to create awareness through naturalistic enclosures and create long-lasting visitor experience through state-of-the-art visitor facilities like 4D Theatre, battery-operated train and accessibility to Divyangjan.

The Rajgir Zoo Safari, spread over 472 acres, is likely to see the light of the day in two months’ time. The zoo is being established exclusively comprising safari enclosures which will offer larger spaces for captive animals. There will be five safari enclosures and a walk-in proposed in the zoo which will house lion, bear, tiger, leopard and a mixed safari of common herbivore species such as spotted deer and sambar among others. It is located close to the historically important Nalanda and is expected to have a high footfall.

A 10-year Vision Plan for the upgradation of 15 select zoos in the country to global standards is presently underway. It plans to ‘twin’ top Indian and foreign zoos and bring in the corporate sector to invest in modernisation as part of this project.