Zoo wants 400 kilos of onions

Annual vegetable tender for Jijamata Udyan includes 400 kg of onions on the list of other vegetables as a digestive stimulant for the animals and birds

All the animals housed at Jijamata Udyan (Victoria & Albert Zoo Gardens) may soon be eating from better pastures as the BMC gears up to float its annual tender for supply of fresh vegetables used to feed them.

Included in the tender is an order for 400 kg of onions, which will attract many wholesale vegetable suppliers to place bids, but will be especially attractive to those supplying the onions.


BMC will float a tender to supply vegetables to the Byculla zoo. Onions have been included as it works as a digestive stimulant for the animals

According to BMC officials, this onion order is strictly for consumption by the zoo animals and not for employees working at the BMC headquarters.

In addition, the tender is not restricted to onions only, but also an assortment of other vegetables that the animals require for their daily diet.

The BMC claims that the vegetables on the tender list has always been standard every year, but somehow, the current price of onions at Rs 60 per kg has given rise to some speculation, which has put them in a questionable spot.

Anil Anjankar, director, Byculla Zoo, said, "We have been feeding the animals these vegetables every year. Onion works as a digestive stimulant for the animals, and hence has been included in their diet.
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Everything else has remained the same except for the onion rates. We are floating a tender since we are not authorised to purchase material from the open market."

Every day, BMC uses half a kilo of onions for the animals and another half kilo for the birds. "The onions are finely chopped or crushed and the juice is added to the fodder fed to the animals.

Onions are necessary for elephants, rhinos, neelgai and a few other species of animals and birds like peacocks etc," said Anjankar.

While the zoo authorities claim that what they do is a regular thing, corporators at the BMC who would be instrumental in passing this tender during the standing committee meeting were amused.
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"Do animals really eat onions? This is something I never knew about," said one corporator.
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While some looked on in disbelief, there were also a few lighter moments at the BMC headquarters and one corporator was overheard saying, "Animals are now eating onions even though we cannot afford to."

Shopping list
The zoo's list comprises:
400 kg of onions
200 kg of corn
1,850 kg of cucumbers
400 kg of potatoes
2,700 kg of sweet potato
750 kg of beetroot
4,500 kg of green leafy vegetables
25,500 kg of carrots