BERHAMPUR: The overcrowded deer park located on the premises of Berhampur University (BU) will be closed down. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) recently.
The deer would be shifted to Bhallery proposed reserve forest near Narayani temple and Higher Education Department has sought intervention of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for making a provision of `20 lakh for the purpose.
Located in the university campus, the park is spread over 2.2 acres of land and was established in 1989. It currently houses over 60 deer, much beyond its capacity.
Earlier, the CZA had cancelled an application by the university and Chief Wildlife Warden, seeking renewal of recognition of the park.
It stated that setting up of a deer park requires a minimum of five hectares land, the existing park does not meet the criteria and also lacks experienced staff to look after the animals. The park had got mini zoo status in 2009 but it was subsequently derecognised as the university failed to follow certain guidelines. The district administration had then intervened and decided to develop the park as a tourist place at a cost of `33 lakh.
In 2013, the university authorities had requested the Forest Department for taking over the management. Sources said the university does not have sufficient funds for maintaining the zoo, which requires at least `7 lakh annually for food, medicine and maintenance.