By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 18: The state government intends to shift all the animals from Phan Nonglait Park, also known as the Lady Hydari Park, to the newly constructed State Zoo in the Ri-Bhoi district by June.
In 2023, the iconic Lady Hydari Park in the city was officially renamed Ka Phan Nonglait Park.
“We are in the process of shifting the animals from the park to their permanent location, which is the zoo, which is almost complete. In the month of June, we should be able to shift most of the animals to the enclosures built there,” said Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday.
He added, “Once done, we will start the proper reconstruction and renovation of the entire park, which will include a large number of facilities. At the same time, some sections behind will be used for parking lots so that there can be some decongestion in the city. This process will start very soon.”
“The entire process of redoing the park has already been done. Part of the plan is to extend some space for the civil hospital. We will be extending some space and giving it to the Shillong Civil Hospital so that more beds and facilities can be added,” he said. “I came with the entire team to study and look at the plans. This will be one step towards ensuring we can decrease the overall congestion in Shillong city,” the CM added.
The Central Zoo Authority had given clearance for the zoo in Ri-Bhoi four years ago.
Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had observed that even after 10 years of releasing grants, work on the state zoo had not progressed. The CAG stated that the project had been marred due to “mishandling” by the state Forest and Environment department.
In a report, the CAG mentioned that the 12th Finance Commission had recommended a grant of Rs 30 crore in 2005 to construct a zoological park at Umtrew.
Accordingly, Rs 12 crore was released to the Forest and Environment department in 2007.
The objective was to provide conservation and breeding facilities for endangered wildlife species and shelter to wild animals rescued from forests.
A modernised zoo is the need of the hour as the state is yet to have a proper zoo apart from the Lady Hydari Park, where half of the park area is meant for recreational activities, leaving the rest of the area for animal enclosures.