Bannerghatta, a post-mortem

Once an enviable wildlife sanctuary, the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) is now attempting to get rid of the tag of mismanagement and neglect. The death of three precious tigers, four-year-old siblings Divya and Minchu and a three-month old tiger cub was a stark pointer towards a malaise that has permeated every section of the Park. That of neglect and indifference.

The infected chicken and beef which played host to salmonella bacteria and subsequently killed the three and caused serious illness in many others passed scrutiny at BBP due to  negligence of procedures that were not taken too seriously and due to two warring doctors.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the BBP has brought in a sea change to  maintain animal health at the Zoo with the increased focus on hygiene.

The recommendations by the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI) and Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals (IAHVB) to monitor and maintain the health of animals have pushed the BBP to bringing in a more scientific approach in maintaining the animals in the Zoo.

As part of the precautionary measures taken to avoid such incidents in future, the department has terminated the contract of a beef supplier. The decision was taken after the meeting to discuss the measures taken after the death of Divya, Minchu and cub of Gowri. In a meeting on October 5, 2010 chaired by M Nanjundaswamy, Chairman, Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK), it was resolved to initiate action against R Fayaz Ahmed, the contractor by issuing a showcause notice as per agreement clause. Chief Wildlife Warden B K Singh said: “It is because of the contaminated meat supplied by the contractor that the tragedy took place. That is why we decided to terminate his contract.”
In the meeting, after discussing the dispute between Dr Chettiappa and Dr Basavarajappa which led to the neglect of animal care, it was decided that the service of the latter be terminated as his service had not been up to the mark. Dr Basavarajappa’s tenure was continued even after his retirement.

A direction was also issued to Executive Director Milo Tago to ensure cleanliness of the premises, supply of high standard beef, proper veterinary care and personnel hygiene of staff working in the enclosures.

Accordingly, the BBP has initiated several measures to ensure hygiene. “Food is screened regularly. During beef supply, doctor should be present and entire beef be dipped in potassium permanganate,” said Tago.

He further said hygiene directions right from changing the buckets to potassium permanganate foot wash and procurement of flame guns to disinfect the cells have been complied with. “These are all the directions of CZAI. Accordingly cleaning of the surrounding area has been a regular exercise. A bone pit is being established two kms away from the enclosures,” he added.

One of the main recommendations of IAHVB is to increase the number of veterinarians. At the time of infection, only two were present at the BBP. As an immediate measure, five students of veterinary sciences have been entrusted the job of monitoring the health of the animals. In a month’s time, these five students will be on a full time job at BBP.

Administrative issues

Taking care of the health of the animals has been far easier than streamlining various works being carried out by BBP. The Master Plan Project for BBP was initiated in 2004 but the work is being carried out at a leisurely pace. 

The Rs 20-crore project has been jointly financed by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Karnataka Zoo Authority (KZA),  Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation and Central Zoo Authority (CZA), Government of India- department of Biotechnology and other organisations. With no proper proposals or plans to utilise the sanctioned amount of Rs 20 crore, BBP went ahead and created the Butterfly Park inside the Park premises at an estimated cost of Rs 3.82 crore.  But by the time the park got inaugurated in 2006, the actual cost had escalated to Rs 4.70 crore.  At present, the Butterfly Park looks bleak as many of the butterflies are not able to lay eggs due to the climatic conditions inside the park.

BBP came up with a Rs 10-crore project in the year 2007 which, as per the estimate, had to be completed within six months.  The work included asphalting of 10-km stretch worth Rs. 83.84 lakh inside the safari where only six kms work was awarded for Rs 50 lakh to a contractor who constructed the road without guidance of any engineer or making any entry in the measurement book. 

According to a deputed Assistant Engineer from Public Works Department, Mahesh Babu, an 'ad hoc' amount of Rs 38 lakh was given to the contractor for the work. However the 10-km stretch was finally completed, tenders had to be called for filling the potholes. Besides this, a masonry wall is also being constructed in the Park premises, which,  according to Mahesh Babu is 'trespassing the reserve forest area, where the contractor had no relevant records of possessing the work site'.   Moreover, he says, he was not aware of the construction as the Zoo authorities has assigned the work to the contractor without his consent.

Defending the Park administration, BBP's Executive Director Milo Tago rubbished all the allegations and said that 'Master Plan Project Work' is being carried out in a phased manner and cannot be hurried as wildlife cannot be shifted every now and then.  "Development work cannot be taken up at a fast phase inside the Park; it needs proper planning and co-ordination and the animals cannot be shifted into different enclosures.  The construction work has had huge obstacles since it began, hampering the speedy completion of the project," he said.