2 min readNew DelhiOct 1, 2014 02:13 AM IST
First published on: Oct 1, 2014 at 02:13 AM IST
A week after a youth was mauled to death by a white tiger, things are literally falling apart at the Delhi zoo, as far as security arrangements at tiger enclosures are concerned. On Tuesday, the glass facade, that was supposed to be installed in one of the tiger enclosures, was found “mysteriously shattered”. Zoo officials claimed that it was a “serious mischief” and will identify the perpetrators.
The Delhi Zoo is currently undergoing a design overhaul in the run-up to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) conference, scheduled to take place in November.
The zoo had planned to install three glass façades at enclosure No. 10 which houses white tiger Malar.
According to a zoo official, the revamp of enclosure 10 had begun a year ago and glass facades were installed in three viewing points. However, one of them got damaged and the zoo was planning to replace the damaged glass.
“Today, we were supposed to replace the damaged glass. But this morning, we found the new glass shattered,” a zoo official said.
“This has made us introspect about the quality of glass procured. Had the glass been installed and it shattered while visitors were around then it would have had far worse consequences,” a senior zoo official said.
When asked about standards adopted by the zoo while procuring such material, a zoo official said they did not have any “particular norms” regarding the matter.
The glass façades of four bird enclosures – silver pheasant, golden pheasant, military macaw and blue and yellow macaw – have been damaged, but are yet to be replaced.
“We have send proposals to replace them. But we do not know when that will happen,” the official said. Zoo curator Riaz Khan said “things should be in place” before Delhi showcases its zoo to the world during the WAZA conference.
Meanwhile, seven-year-old Vijay, who had attacked and killed 22-year-old Maqsood, was back in enclosure No. 8 on Tuesday morning.
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