CM Satheesan floats plan to shift Thiruvananthapuram Zoo to forested surroundings in Neyyar

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 16 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister, V.D. Satheesan, on Wednesday floated an ambitious proposal to shift the over 100-year-old Thiruvananthapuram Zoo from the heart of the capital city to the forested surroundings of Neyyar Dam, saying the move could also free up prime land in the city for a major public space.

Chief Minister Satheesan said the zoo, presently located in the middle of the city, was not an ideal setting for animals and suggested that they should instead be housed in an environment closer to their natural forest habitat.

“It can be moved to near the forest at Neyyar Dam. Once that is done, we get prime land which can be converted to something like Madison Square. I am sharing an idea with you,” Chief Minister Satheesan said while inaugurating the three-day ‘Reimagining Keralam’ event here on Wednesday.

The proposal, if taken forward, would involve relocating one of Kerala’s most iconic public institutions.

The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo was established in 1859 as an adjunct to the museum by the erstwhile Maharaja of Travancore and is among the oldest zoos in the country.

Spread over about 30 acres, it attracts around 14 lakh visitors annually and remains a major tourist and educational attraction in the capital.

Chief Minister Satheesan’s suggestion came at a forum specifically created to turn major development ideas into implementable projects.

The ‘Reimagining Keralam Round Table Conferences’ bring together ministers, senior bureaucrats, experts, government agencies, regulators, industry representatives, funding agencies and other stakeholders to work out the vision, institutional arrangements, resources and implementation strategy for projects.

The deliberations cover proposals ranging from the Southern Kerala Economic Corridor and a Special Investment Zone to a Global Gold Hub, Malayalam AI initiative, new-generation technology, MSME growth, pilgrimage centres, the Muziris heritage project and space economy.

The zoo proposal, however, is certain to open a wider debate over the future use of valuable public land in the capital.

Any move to relocate the zoo would involve questions of animal welfare, environmental clearances, visitor access, cost and the eventual use of the existing 30 acre site.

It could also become politically contentious, with the CPI(M)-led Left historically questioning several major development initiatives mooted by Congress-led governments, including from tractors, computers, Cochin airport, Smart City and major highway expansion.

The political irony in Kerala has often been that proposals the Left opposed while in Opposition have subsequently been pursued in different forms when they run the government.

–IANS

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