Shift Sangli zoo to Chennai, says CZA

Deriding the SMKMC and the treatment being meted out to the 28-odd lions and other unlucky inmates of the Pratapsinh Udyan, CZA chairman P R Sinha has opined that the Sangli zoo be shifted stock and barrel to Vandur near Chennai.

In a letter to the Sangli Municipal Commissioner early this month, Sinha has reportedly elaborated on CZA contemplating to shift the zoo.

Described as the most unsafe place for animals by CZA and the wildlife enthusiasts, the Sangli zoo’s dubious record on animal safety had fallen to an all-time low, late last month. A spotted doe and its fawn had been mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs breaking into the zoo.

In a little under two decades, the infamous zoo has been a mute witness to the deaths of some 20 Asiatic lions, two leopards, six deer, a score of reptiles, 14 hyenas, two peahens, four alligators and ten monkeys.

The December incident followed by the death of one more lion had raised a few fresh questions about animal safety in the zoo and the Municipal Corporation’s Rs 35 lakh zoo redesign plan.

Senior civic officials were tight-lipped about any such communication from the CZA chief, though there were sharp reactions from the citizens on the issue. Many felt that administrative apathy today has made the city of Sangli to loose a zoo established by its erstwhile ruler.

Reports from the CZA and other wildlife experts debunking the civic body, notwithstanding, a section of SMKMC members already have vowed to oppose the CZA move. Congress party leader in the municipal corporation Uday Pawar on Sunday stated that his party would oppose the move.

A plan had been made early this year to redesign the zoo after there was an uproar over the death of lions one after another. The then district collector Dr Nitin Karir had been forced to intervene and instruct authorities to provide spacious cages and quality food to the animals. It was through Karir’s intervention that the zoo could get services of a full-time vet.

This, however, brought little change in the lives of the caged animals and has prompted a group of citizens to take up the issue with high-profile wildlife activist Maneka Gandhi.

Meanwhile, the State Government has directed the Deputy Conservator (Wildlife) in Kolhapur to submit a plan for shifting of all the Sangli lions to the proposed lion safari at the Sagareshwar wildlife sanctuary, it was stated on Sunday. A committee headed by Sangli District Collector Hanmantrao Pawar will prepare the plan.