Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam will be funded $7 million for restoration and development as a world-class international ecological park by the World Bank. This is for the first time that the World Bank will be funding a zoo. Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam was heavily damaged by the cyclone Hudhud in 2014. The four coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari are expected to get $20 million for forest restoration and disaster prevention measures.
Under the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project, the World Bank in-principle has sanctioned 250 million dollars for its restoration. The beach city zoo suffered very severe damage when winds reaching a speed of 250 km per hour blew after Cyclone Hudhud made its landfall near Kailasagiri hills close to the zoo in October 2014. The zoo bore the brunt of devastation. A team from World Bank is expected to visit the zoo in a few days.
The zoo set up in 1972 spread over 625 acres is home for 95 species and 788 inmates. In addition, it also has 25 species which live in the open due to rich ecosystem in close proximity of Kambalakonda Reserve Forest area.
About Indira Gandhi Zoological Park
- The zoo is surrounded by Eastern Ghats on three sides and the Bay of Bengal on the other.
- The Animal Rescue Centre, a brainchild of the Central Zoo Authority to shelter endangered species subjected to cruelty by circus companies, has now become a retirement home for many.
- It now has 17 lions and seven tigers.
- The zoo houses two tigers, two lions, five white tigers, two hippos, two giraffes, two cheetahs and four panthers.
- It also has good collection of primates, snakes and avian birds.
