Delhi floods: Pumps deployed to keep animals safe at Delhi Zoo

Flooding caused by damaged drain regulator in Delhi Zoo leads to increase in water levels of moats and drains, but officials prepared with pumps and raised sections in enclosures to manage situation.

Updated on: Jul 15, 2023, 24:40:37 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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While the damage to a regulator on drain number 12 along ITO on Thursday evening led to flooding in the area, it also led to an increase in the water levels of the moats and drains flowing through the Delhi Zoo at Mathura Road. Officials say the zoo has been preparing for heavy rain and waterlogging for the past few days, with pumps being deployed along enclosures that are vulnerable to flooding.

Platforms are being created by the zoo authorities inside the enclosures. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

“Even before rains began, the water from the drains and moats was completely removed and we were able to manage the situation even during the heavy rain spell. We are now once again seeing a rise in the water levels of the drains that act as moats in some enclosures, possibly due to backflow of water which is now being simultaneously drained out,” said a Delhi Zoo official.

The official added that water had almost filled up the moat at the rhinoceros, sambar and chital enclosures before it was once again drained out. “Multiple pumps are being put to use.” he added.

Akanksha Mahajan, director of the Delhi Zoo, said besides the water pumps, raised sections were also being built in the enclosures where waterlogging was possible. “We are using wooden logs to create a raised area inside the enclosures such as the deer one. We are monitoring the flow of water and it is simultaneously being drained out. Even in the rhinoceros enclosure, where water levels may rise through the moat, the rhino can be moved to the resting area, which is much higher,” she said.

The Delhi Zoo, inaugurated in 1959, currently houses over 90 different animal species. This includes white tigers, Royal Bengal tigers, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses among others

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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