Eight penguins were brought to Byculla Zoo in 2016. One of them later died. file
Mumbai:
The Congress today slammed the Shiv Sena-ruled Mumbai civic body for issuing a tender at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore for the maintenance of seven penguins at the Byculla zoo here for the next three years.
Leader of Opposition in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Ravi Raja of Congress told PTI that Rs 10 crore has already been spent on Penguin under the current three-year contract which expires this month.
“My objection is that what is the need to spend so much for the maintenance of the penguins,” he said.
The Mumbai civic body on August 13 had floated a tender worth Rs 15.26 crore for the maintenance of penguins and their health management for 36 months.
For the first time, eight penguins – three males and five females – were introduced in 2016 to the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, commonly known as the Byculla Zoo. One of them later died.
Bringing flightless birds to the zoo was a pet project of Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, who currently heads the Ministry of Tourism in the Maharashtra government.
The penguins were purchased from the Coax Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea.
The enclosure for the penguins spans 1,800 square feet and includes a water pool, housing area, air handling units, and a cooling system.
Meanwhile, civic officials said that the penguins were a major tourist attraction before the zoo was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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