Public Gardens to come alive with chirping birds

By T. Lalith Singh

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 6. After nearly four decades, the sprawling Public Gardens at Nampally is all set to come alive with the fluttering of some fine winged creatures. An aviary, with 18 pairs of exotic birds, is fast nearing completion and is likely to be thrown open to public in a month's time.

An initiative of the Department of Horticulture, the aviary, which is located just opposite the entrance to the Lalitha Kala Thoranam, has seven cages for birds brought from different countries. While the birds have already come and are put in cages, the work on developing lawns and a creeper section, apart from adding pathways was in progress.

The chirping birds brought for the aviary include the `African Gray Parrot' with its red tail, yellow eyes and black beak and the `Golden Pheasant' from Central China, which comes with its 32 inches long tail.

The `Golden Pheasant', which usually is found in the rocky hills covered with bamboo and other scrub is known for its black and long central curved tail feathers and yellow eyes.

Visitors to the Public Gardens would also have an opportunity of admiring the light green coloured `Nandaya Conure', a bird found in Paraguay and Bolivia. Another interesting acquisition made for the bird park here is the white Java dove which is found in the wild colonies of California.

According to officials, the other exotic birds include `Superb Parrot', `Yellow Ring Neck Parakeet', `Red Lory', `Sulphur Crested Cockatoo', `Yellow Cockotail',`Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot' and `Chattering Lory'.

``The bird park is being developed with a budget of Rs. 6 lakhs, of which an amount of Rs. 2.5 lakh went for the procurement of these exotic birds,'' said Mr. P. Sadasiva Rao, Joint Director, Horticulture Department. Work on cleaning the entire aviary premises - about 8,000 square feet and laying fresh lawns has been taken up.

Recarpeting of two-decade-old lawns was being done at a brisk pace. A natural fountain along the lake water and a creeper section were the other added attractions, which, apart from adding to the beauty of the aviary, would also provide shelter to the visitors.

Incidentally, the Public Gardens, known as `Bagh-e-Aam' among the local populace, was originally the zoo with all the birds and animals present. After the Nehru Zoological Park was established in the 60s, the animals were shifted to Bahadurpura.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Panel to monitor 'misuse' of minority status
           sought
Next     : Reward for making eco-friendly Ganesh idols