Maharajbagh zoo
Encyclopedia
Maharajbagh zoo is the central zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 of Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The zoo is located in the heart of the city and has been built on the garden of the Bhonsle
Bhonsle
The Bhonsle were a prominent clan within the Maratha clan system who served as rulers of several states in India.The most prominent member of the clan was Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire...

 and Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 rulers of the city
Nagpur kingdom
The Kingdom of Nagpur was a kingdom in east-central India founded by the Gond rulers of Deogarh in the early 18th century. It came under the rule of Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century...

. The zoo comes under the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) of India and is maintained by the Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth(PKV) of Nagpur. The zoo had come under scrutiny in 2006 for possible closure due to issues concerning animal healthcare but was cleared of all objections raised by CZA in 2007. The Government of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra is the government for the state of Maharashtra in Western India.It is an elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the legislative assembly for a 5 year term.-Ministers:...

 has approved a new safari park of international standards next to Gorewada Lake
Gorewada Lake
Gorewada Lake is situated on the north-west corner of Nagpur city. It is created with a dam 2,350 feet long.- References :*...

 in the city. Animals from Maharajbagh zoo would be moved to this new animal park but the older zoo will remain open for new animals.

Zoo

The zoo is home to leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...

s, lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

, tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

, peacock
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...

 and other animals. Of the famous attractions in the zoo - a pair of leopards – Julie and Gopal died of old age in 2006. The pair’s little cub is still in the zoo.

Closure notice and later recognition

Maharajbagh zoo is one of the smaller zoos in India and has consistently faced a shortage of funds for expansion and maintenance. In 2006, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (India) ordered the Maharashtra government to close smaller zoos in the state if they did not comply with the 1998 National Zoo policy. These orders applied to Nagpur’s zoo as it lacked open enclosures for its animals. Among the 51 objections raised by CZA were that lack of a wall along the near-by open nullah, or water channel, could cause infections among the animals. INR
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....

 1 lacs
Lacs
Lacs is one of the 19 regions of Côte d'Ivoire. The region's capital is Yamoussoukro. Covering 8,940 km², its population is 597,500.The region is divided into three departments: Tiébissou, Toumodi, and Yamoussoukro....

 from Nagpur Municipal Corporation
Nagpur Municipal Corporation
-Tasks:NMC is responsible for administering and providing basic infrastructure to the city.# Building and Maintenance of roads, streets and flyovers.# Public Municipal schools# Water purification and supply# Hospitals# Street lighting...

 helped build a wall and open enclosures and the zoo was cleared of notice.

Zoo came under controversy in August 2009, Nagpur's Guardian Minister Balasaheb Thorat
Balasaheb Thorat
Balasaheb Bhausaheb Thorat , is an Indian politician. He is currently the Minister for Minister of Revenue, and Khar Lands in the Government of Maharashtra....

 entered a tiger's cage flouting India's Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
NAGPUR: Even as two more emu deaths were reported in the Maharajbagh Zoo on Tuesday morning, the Panjabrao Deshmukh Kris...hi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), which manages the zoo, has stripped associate dean of the College of Agriculture Vandan Mohod of t...he charge of zoo controller for the deer relocation mess.

Dr VM Bhale, the registrar of the Akola-based PDKV, said: "From Monday evening ER Patil, the dean of faculty of agriculture, has taken additional charge as zoo controller. Mohod will continue to function as associate dean of the college."

"We have shifted zoo incharge Dr AB Motghare," Dr Bhale said. He was non-committal about a similar action against Mohod and zookeeper Sumeet Deshmukh, who accompanied the vehicle to Navegaon. Incidentally, Deshmukh is Mohod's nephew.

On the two emu deaths, he said the zoo is under threat from pollution. On Amravati Road, many hotel and eateries dump garbage affecting zoo animals and on the other a nullah is still causing a problem. "We are devising a plan to curb pollution," he added.

The emu deaths comes close on the heels of two deer deaths due to negligence. This is the third emu death in the past six days. One emu that died on August 12 was buried quietly by Dr Motghare and the staff without performing post-mortem.

"No steps were taken to find out the exact cause of emu death. Had the post-mortem been done, the two emus that died on Tuesday could perhaps have been saved," claimed Karishma Galani, People for Animal (PFA) leader in Nagpur.

The post-mortem on two emus was performed at the Government Veterinary College. With three emu deaths, the zoo is left with only two emus. The zoo had procured two emus in 2005 for Rs 7,000 from a farm near Malkapur in Buldana district. The pair had bred in the zoo.

Following TOI's report, Naresh Kadyan, representative of International Organization for Animal Protection (OIPA) in India and Haryana PFA leader, on Tuesday issued a notice to the chief wildlife warden and state director general of police (DGP) demanding strict action against Mohod and Dr Motghare.

Kadyan has decided to take up the matter with MoEF minister Jairam Ramesh and the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). The CZA has also received complaints on deer deaths.

PFA's Manish Singh Chauhan and Karishma Galani reiterated their charge that police was delaying arrest of culprits.

Investigating officer PI P B Thombre denied delay on part of the police. "It is true that crime has been committed but we are collecting supporting evidence so that the case stands in the court. There may be more than two culprits. We are also in touch with the wildlife officials. We have also not received the post-mortem report of the deer," Thombre said.

He recorded the statement of Sumeet Deshmukh, who said as the vehicle encountered a snag, there was a delay in reaching Nagpur.

Interestingly, the vehicle had left Navegaon at 5pm and should have reached Nagpur at 10pm.

Project Gorewada

In 2001 the Government of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra is the government for the state of Maharashtra in Western India.It is an elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the legislative assembly for a 5 year term.-Ministers:...

 had planned a zoo complying with international standards and two locations, Goregaon
Goregaon
Goregaon is the locality situated at the north of Mumbai . It is a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line....

 in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

 and Gorewada in Nagpur, were shortlisted. But due to space limitations in Mumbai, the Gorewada site was selected. In 2006, the State government approved the new 1700 acres (6.9 km²) safari park on Forest department land near Gorewada lake. Project Gorewada will be based on the example of Singapore's animal parks and will cost around INR
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....

 500 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....

. The project is expected to attract 25 to 30 lakh tourists each year and will boost Vidarbha
Vidarbha
Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar . It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra...

's economy. The project will a zoological park satisfying international standards, a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

, a breeding centre
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....

, a safari park
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...

, night safari, wetlands, an interpretation centre and eco-tourism, a rare combination in India. The State government is in the process of creating the Gondwana Foundation entrusted with some autonomy to finance and build the project. Initially, the Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

-based Bernard Harrison and Friends were selected for preparing the master plan of the project and now the state government will invite new tenders on a Build Operate Transfer basis for this project..
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