This is an archive article published on December 12, 2023
36 birds, animals died in 5 years at PCMC zoo under ‘renovation’, says MLA Ashwini Jagtap; Maharashtra govt clarifies
The Chinchwad MLA pointed out that despite seven years of being closed for renovation, there is no indication that the Bahinabai Chaudhary Zoo will be opened to the public any time soon.
Industries Minister Uday Samant said, “The zoo was set up in 1991. In 1999, it was decided to upgrade it. In 2006, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) gave permission for the upgradation."
Chinchwad MLA Ashwini Jagtap alleged in the Maharashtra Assembly Tuesday that 36 animals and birds have died at the Bahinabai Chaudhary Zoo, run by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), in the last five years. The zoo, located in the Sambhajinagar area of the industrial city, has been shut for the last seven years as part of renovation efforts.
Jagtap pointed out that despite years of being closed for renovation works, there is no indication that the zoo will be thrown open to the public any time soon. She said 36 birds and animals died in the facility over the last five years due to its pitiable condition.
“There has been an inordinate delay in carrying out the renovation work. The PCMC has spent nearly Rs 19 crore on zoo development so far. In the last seven years, the contractor was given several extensions to complete the work. I demand that action should be taken against the contractor and consultants appointed for the development of the zoo. Also, there should be a probe as to why birds and animals died in the zoo in such large numbers. The probe should be carried out by competent officials of the Central Zoo Authority,” she said.
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“PCMC officials who supported the contractor should also be punished. The contractor should be black-listed,” Jagtap said.
Replying to the MLA’s demand, Industries Minister Uday Samant, speaking on behalf of the government, said, “The zoo was set up in 1991. In 1999, it was decided to upgrade it. In 2006, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) gave permission for the upgradation. In 2016, the CZA approved the DPR of the project. It was decided to carry out the work in two phases. However, the contract was cancelled twice. After that, CZA officials visited the zoo and called for constructive changes. A new tender for Rs 19 crore has been awarded to a contractor. Soon the work will be completed and it will be thrown open to the people.”
As for the death of the birds and animals, Samant said, ”These were natural deaths… Some of the birds and animals have been shifted to Katraj zoo as well.” The minister added that they have taken action against two contractors and ensured that the work will soon be completed.
Dr Arun Dagade, assistant zoo in-charge, PCMC, said, “Most of the animal’s deaths happened due to illness or old age. Birds have a lifespan of two-three years, only peacocks live up to seven years. Of the 36 deaths in the last five years, five were of peacocks and four were crocodiles. As many as 21 birds died. We do not have tigers and lions. Most of the inmates here are of the small variety. We have space for 184 birds and animals. Once the expansion work is over, at least 500 birds and animals can be accommodated.”
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More
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