Plans to set up rain-proof zoo

GHMC and Hyderabad zoo staff on Friday cleared a clogged inlet from the Mir Alam tank to the zoo to ensure that excess water gets channeled smoothly into the zoo during the rains.

The zoo was closed for the day due to the cleaning process that flooded safari park and surrounding areas, apart from increasing the water level in moats of some animal enclosures.

The zoo authorities could not confirm whether it would remain shut on Saturday and said it depended on the rain later on Friday night.

While clearing of inlets does mitigate the problem temporarily, long term solutions are required to ensure that the compound wall between the zoo and tank does not weaken and collapse.

GHMC superintending engineer Shekhar Reddy said proposals for a grouting procedure to block pores or cracks would be placed and the grouting works will be conducted after the monsoon. Grouting is a technique in which concrete is injected with high pressure in gaps and pores for repairs.

Zoo curator Shivani Dogra said natural drainages in the zoo were being cleaned regularly for channelising excess water from Mir Alam tank but there was a requirement to overhaul the drainage network and repair some moats where tank water is seeping through the ground and that the zoo planned to conduct these works soon.

However, all these 'planned’ works need to be realised soon, unlike the proposal sent by the zoo to Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board for the construction of a sewage treatment plant, which has been pending since last year.

The zoo was closed for the day due to the cleaning process that flooded safari park and surrounding areas.

The authorities could not confirm whether the zoo would remain shut on Saturday.