City anchor: Project postponed indefinitely as ut Administration says bigger plot required to organise dolphin shows Another multi-crore brainchild of former UT Administrator General S F Rodrigues the World Class Aquarium has met with an uncertain fate. The reason that the UT Administration has given now is that they want a bigger piece of land to set up the aquarium so that there could be a dolphin show,too. Interestingly,in the last over two years,ever since the project was envisaged,the point of having a dolphin show never arose. The decision of putting the project in indefinite slumber was taken in a meeting of State Level Monitoring Committee,held last month. According to the proceedings of the meeting (a copy of which is with Newsline),a consultant gave a presentation regarding various provisions mentioned in the draft Technical and Financial Feasibility Study Report and Concept Plan and Project Structuring Report. As asserted by the consultant in his presentation and draft report that the area of 2.92 acres is very less considering the development of a World Class Aquarium,dynamic activities like dolphin show etc. cannot be part of the development proposition owing to the small size of the site, it was recorded. It was observed by the Monitoring Committee that the present site will not be appropriate for the development of a world-class aquarium,and the committee was of the view that an alternate site measuring eight to 10 acres may be explored in Chandigarh for the establishment of the same, the proceedings further read. Besides the aquarium,Rodrigues' projects included a theme park and Filmcity all of which have been shelved after the two projects came under Central Bureau of Investigation and Central Vigilance Commission's scanner. In fact,the two projects brought Rodrigues entire team under suspicion and they are facing a CBI probe. The UT Administration had earlier planned the aquarium with an objective to showcase ornamental fish of different varieties in the vicinity of Sukhna Lake. A plot of 2.92 acres close to the ponds owned by the fisheries department was earmarked and 12 companies had been shortlisted for appointing a consultant for the project. A Delhi-based consultant was appointed and the concept plan was also made. The much-hyped project was publicised in a great fashion by the Chandigarh Administration,who claimed it to be one-of-its kind aquarium in the entire country. It was to be developed by the Chandigarh Forest department on public-private-partnership model. The aquarium was supposed to have a walkway,education-cum-fish presentation centre (with a seating capacity of around 50),souvenir and aquarium outlet point,ticket counter-cum-office complex,store-cum-workshop,cafeteria,public conveniences,and other entertainment facilities on the pattern of international aquatic parks. Secretary (Forests) Sanjay Kumar said: The project is not as such dumped,but the consultant has proposed a new dimension to the project a fourth generation aquarium,which requires bigger space. Against the initial 2.91 acres,now the requirement is somewhere around eight acres. The land has been identified and shown to the consultant. The new concept note shall be prepared and from there things will move. It will take some time,but the fourth generation aquarium will be a better one,as the existing area can accommodate only a second-generation aquarium,which would not have much to offer. Reality bites: Dolphins in the city According to fisheries experts,dolphins require very heavy maintenance. It is not easy to have dolphins at any place,and they can nowhere be part of an aquarium. They require a separate set-up. The place where dolphins are kept or dolphin shows are organised are called dolphinariums. Dolphins eat a large amount of fish to survive and require a large amount of water and depth,too. Regular monitoring of the animals by expert trainers is mandatory. To have dolphins in Chandigarh appears a far-fetched concept, said a fisheries expert.
