In the aftermath of cyclone Vardah, the city’s zoos are being closed for restoration. The Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur and the Children’s Park in Guindy will be closed indefinitely.
This was announced by Forest Department officials, after Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam visited the Vandalur zoo on Wednesday. According to zoo director Amit Asthana, the cyclone had a devastating effect on the Vandalur zoo and the Children’s Park in Guindy.
While thousands of trees were uprooted inside the Vandalur zoo, 1,200 trees were uprooted inside the Guindy park. Reports from Forest Department initially said more than 7,500 trees were down on Monday afternoon at Arignar Anna Zoological Park.
However, animals were safe in their enclosures, said N. Krishnakumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.
As Tuesday was a weekly holiday for the zoo, workers cleared the branches and leaves from the walkways. However, they are in the process of procuring high-end tree cutting equipment from their colleagues in other regions. It might take a minimum of 4 or 5 days to restore order on the walkways, a Forest Department official said. Additional staff from other divisions of Forest Department have been deployed to restore these two parks, he said.
An official press release later in the evening said that over 10,000 trees were uprooted in Vandalur zoo alone.
The outer compound wall was damaged to a distance of 950 metres. Mr. Panneerselvam instructed the staff to commence the repair works immediately. He also visited Mambakkam where the 250-KVA sub-station was severely damaged. He handed over financial aid of Rs. 13.9 lakh to families of Mamallapuram Town Panchayat, the release said.
This was announced by Forest Department officials, after Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam visited the Vandalur zoo on Wednesday. According to zoo director Amit Asthana, the cyclone had a devastating effect on the Vandalur zoo and the Children’s Park in Guindy.
While thousands of trees were uprooted inside the Vandalur zoo, 1,200 trees were uprooted inside the Guindy park. Reports from Forest Department initially said more than 7,500 trees were down on Monday afternoon at Arignar Anna Zoological Park.
However, animals were safe in their enclosures, said N. Krishnakumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.
As Tuesday was a weekly holiday for the zoo, workers cleared the branches and leaves from the walkways. However, they are in the process of procuring high-end tree cutting equipment from their colleagues in other regions. It might take a minimum of 4 or 5 days to restore order on the walkways, a Forest Department official said. Additional staff from other divisions of Forest Department have been deployed to restore these two parks, he said.
An official press release later in the evening said that over 10,000 trees were uprooted in Vandalur zoo alone.
The outer compound wall was damaged to a distance of 950 metres. Mr. Panneerselvam instructed the staff to commence the repair works immediately. He also visited Mambakkam where the 250-KVA sub-station was severely damaged. He handed over financial aid of Rs. 13.9 lakh to families of Mamallapuram Town Panchayat, the release said.