GUWAHATI, Dec 19 � Setting a novel precedent, the staff of Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden and a few well wishers have joined hands to improve the ambience of the facility that is home to more than 110 species of mammals, birds and reptiles, apart from a large range of flora.
The staff from the zoo have taken part in Shram Daan on the last three Fridays, and embarked on a cleanliness drive inside the premises. Improvements have been made to several areas as well as enclosures, said a zoo official who himself had taken part in the endeavour.
Patrons and well wishers of the zoo have taken separate initiatives, which have encouraged the zoo personnel. Some patrons who have come forward have even requested that their names are not revealed to the press. The Down Town Charitable Trust is another entity that has come to support the facelift of the zoo.
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, Utpal Bora, the zoo DFO mentioned that the efforts made by the staff of the facility and a few other people were indeed praiseworthy. He hoped more people would join hands with the zoo that conserves endemic as well as exotic animals in one of the largest public spaces inside the city.
He informed that in the coming months the zoo is going to acquire more wildlife from zoos in Eastern and Southern India. Under an exchange programme animals are coming in from Ranchi, Patna, Raipur, and Vishakhapatnam zoo, a step to boost visitor interest in wildlife.
The footfall of visitors in the zoo is more than in the corresponding period last year, and numbers are expected to peak around the year end and on New Year�s Day.
