Thrissur zoo to have modern facilities

Puthur (Thrissur): Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said that Thrissur zoo will have state-of-the-art facilities after it is relocated to Puthur.

The Chief Minister was addressing a meeting in Puthur on Saturday to inaugurate construction of walls in a plot to which the Thrissur zoo would be relocated.

�The 13-acre plot in the heart of the city where the zoo is currently located has been found unsuitable. Space constraints are affecting animals. Hence, the zoo is being relocated to a 306-acre plot in Puthur. The Finance, Revenue, Culture Departments and the Central Zoo Authority of India have taken keen interest in the relocation. The relocated zoo at Puthur will have the locational advantage of being near the Peechi dam, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala Agricultural University, College of Forestry and the College of

Veterinary and Animal Sciences. The new zoo should be similar to or better than the ones in Thiruvananthapuram and Mysore, he said.

He said the annual number of visitors to the Thrissur zoo should be raised from the current 5,000 to 10,000 or 15,000. �The new zoo should keep more varieties of birds and animals.�