Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Bid to shift deer from nandanavanam opposed

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: Residents of Narapally village, 15 km from the city near Ghatkesar, are up in arms against attempts of Forest Department officials to transfer deer from Bhagyanagar Nandanavanam located near the village to Chilkur deer park.

On Saturday, over 150 villagers laid a siege to the park and did not allow officials to catch and transport the deer to the park on the pretext that Bhagyanagar Nandanavanam still had the potential to become a vital tourism destination.

Villagers pointed out that the deer park lay close to tourist hot spots along the Warangal highway, including Keesara, Yadagirigutta and the Thousand Pillar temple in Warangal, and that it would be an ideal place to unwind for tourists.

However, lack of funds from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) is said to have prompted the department's decision to vacate the deer from Nandanavanam. "When it was set up, there were only six deer. Now, there are around 26 of them. The Tourism Department came up with several proposals of eco-tourism projects. However, none of them took off. Unemployed youth from nearby villages will benefit a lot if good projects come up here," said Narapally sarpanch D. Sri Rajesh.

"We have given locals some more time to think over it. We are not able to get adequate funds to run this facility. We will come out with a firm decision soon," said Conservator of Forests (Hyderabad Circle) Sunil Kumar Gupta.

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