Mumbai: Congress criticises civic body tender for upkeep of penguins in Byculla zoo

The Mumbai civic body on August 13 issued a tender worth Rs 15.26 crore for 36 months for the upkeep of penguins including quarantine and their health management. In a first, eight penguins- three males and five females- were brought to the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, commonly known as the Byculla Zoo, in 2016. One of them died later.

Bringing the flightless birds to the zoo was a pet project of Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, who currently heads the Tourism Ministry in the Maharashtra government. The penguins had been procured from Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea.

The enclosure for penguins is spread over 1,800 sq ft and consists of a water pool, accommodation area, air handling units and a cooling system. Meanwhile, civic officials said the penguins were a major tourist attraction before the zoo was shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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