NZP to reopen vulture breeding centre soon

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Barang: Authorities of Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) here have spent `5 lakh to reopen a vulture breeding centre on the 60th foundation day of the zoo December 29.
In 2011, the zoo authorities started constructing the vulture breeding centre on a three-acre plot of land at Botanical Garden, adjacent to the NZP. They had spent around `70 lakh on the breeding centre, sources said.
Construction work for the project was completed in 2014. However, the breeding centre could not function properly in the absence of required number of vultures.
The National Zoo Authority (NZA) recently permitted the NZP to bring 12 vultures from a zoo at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. A NZP team comprising Assistant Conservator of forests Prashanta Kumar Panda, ranger Ashok Kumar Das, veterinarian Debabrata Mahapatra, zoo official Milan Panda and animal caretakers Subhas Pradhan and Pathani Jena left for Gwalior Tuesday to bring the vultures.
“We would bring the vultures at our own cost and care. Our team would return from Gwalior November 28. The breeding centre has been renovated with an expenditure of `5 lakh,” said a NZP official.
In a related development, NZP authorities have also initiated steps to restore the toy train facility at the zoo. The zoo authorities have tied up with Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to restore the toy train facility.
It is learnt that the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has provided `4 crore assistance for restoration of the toy train at NZP.
It is worth mentioning here that the toy train was inaugurated at NZP August 8, 1971. The facility was a point of attraction for children. The zoo authorities had managed the facility till 2007 after carrying out renovation work in 1993.
The toy train facility was handed over to a private entity through tenders in 2008. Subsequently, the facility was lying defunct due to some managerial issues, sources said.