Planning to visit Mumbai’s Byculla zoo? Expect to see zebras, kangaroos soon

The zoo could soon be home to giraffes, zebras, ostrich, the African antelope, kangaroos and cheetahs.

The Veermata Jijabai Udyan, which welcomed the Humboldt penguins in 2016, could soon be home to giraffes, zebras, ostrich, the African antelope, kangaroos and cheetahs.

Seven firms met senior civic officials on Thursday in connection with building 17 animal enclosures at the zoo. (HT File)

After several delays in the second phase of the zoo revamp project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has kick-started the project again.

Seven firms met senior civic officials on Thursday in connection with building 17 animal enclosures at the zoo. Once these enclosures are built, the zoo will have more space for the existing animals, and enough to accommodate the new ones.

After Thursday’s meeting, the tenders for the Rs120-crore second phase revamp will be floated. Construction is likely to begin in the next three months, a BMC official said.

READ: You will have to shell out ₹50 to enter Mumbai’s Byculla zoo

The first phase of the revamp included building the penguin enclosure. For the second phase, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta scrapped a previous batch of applications from contractors in June.

On examining the applications, he realised the firms did not have the requisite experience to construct animal enclosures. Mehta ordered the tenders be floated again.

Civic officials said they were happy with the response they received on Thursday. The director of the zoo, Dr Sanjay Tripathi said, “We received a good response from bidders on Thursday; about 6-7 of them were present. All firms have the basic qualification of experience.”