PUNE, July 22: It took the deaths of four animals within a short span of a month for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to consult experts and wildlife lovers for suggestions about the future well-being of the inmates of its Peshwe Park Zoo.Swinging onto the action after the death of a spotted deer at PMC's Rajiv Gandhi Zoo at Katraj, the civic administration today called on the wildlife experts from various parts of the country and requested them to make recommendations to improve the sorry state of the Peshwe Park zoo.Additional Municipal Commissioner Deepak Kapoor himself made telephone calls to officials from the wildlife wing of the State Government's Forest Department, Dehradun-based Indian Institute of Wild Life as well as the Central Zoo Authority this afternoon.Besides, the civic administration has also organised a meeting of the representatives of ten non government organisations working in the field of wildlife at Peshwe Park Zoo tomorrow morning.Kapoor told newsmen that he has requested the Deputy Conservator of Forests N H N Shaikh, Chief Secretary of the Central Zoo authority S S Sharma and the Director of the Indian Institute of Wildlife to visit the zoo and suggest various measures for ensuring the future well being of the animals and birds at Peshve Park.He said he had also offered that the civic administration would pay the air fare to the experts from outstations coming to visit the zoo. ``We are willing to seek advise from any good consultant who is available,'' he added.Meanwhile, considering a possibility of a foul play in the deaths of four animals within such a short span, the civic administration today beefed up the security at the Peshwe Park and Rajiv Gandhi Zoo.Kapoor said the civic administration has deployed two extra sentries at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo while one additional sentry has been sent to the Peshwe Park.Kapoor reiterated that he felt that the supervision of food and drinking water being served to the inmates of Peshwe Park was not satisfactory. I am satisfied with the work of the labourers but the supervising staff should be more alert, he said.WHILE the issue about the administrative lapse at Peshwe Park is still raging, Kothrud-based Thorat Zoo has become the centre of a fresh controversy.A wildlife lover and founder president of Wild organisation Shekhar Nanajkar on Thursday alleged that the birds at the Thorat Zoo were starving for the last two months due to the inadequate quantity of food being provided to them. Nanajkar also went on to allege that the sorry state was the fallout of a dispute between the Pune Municipal Corporation and Suhas Jog, who has been allowed by the civic administration to run the zoo.Nanajkar claimed that the ducks at Thorat Zoo were surviving on the grass grown in the cages and substandard quality food was being served to the other birds. He also alleged that proper attention was not being given toward the cleanliness on the zoo campus. According to Nanajkar, the civic administration asked Suhas Jog to look after the zoo from April 25.
