Atal tiger park all set for Mar 2 opening

Two tigers have been brought to the Bilikal protected forest here, ahead of the March 2 inauguration of the Atal Behari Vajpayee Biological Park (tiger safari) here.

Ramya and Prithvi, aged seven and six years, respectively, have arrived here from the Mysore zoo, so that the park can be opened in right earnest on the scheduled day by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, to coincide with the inaugural of the Hampi Utsav.

A court case was among the reasons for the delay in the inauguration of the park, work on which begain in 2010. Environmentalist Santosh Martin had approached the court, saying that the safari was being started without the necessary clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

Deputy Conservator of Forests K Purushotham told DH that the approval had now been granted. Lions, elephants, leopards, hyenas, bears, white peacocks and crocodiles will also be housed here. Blackbucks and deer ar already there.

The fenced park has five ponds. The park, over 149.5 acres, will have a 35-acre safari. The inauguration is three months behind schedule.