Surat's butterfly park to lose its flutter, indefinitely

Your zoo trip has just become less colourful. Barely four years after it was opened, the civic body has decided to indefinitely shut down the butterfly park located in the precincts of Sarthana Zoological Park in the city.

Zoo authorities claim heavy rains and winds that hit Surat on June 19 destroyed the park structure and it is badly in need of repairs.

According to civic body sources, an internal letter  issued by the zoo department states the Butterfly Park will be closed for an indefinite period from July 20. The reason cited is that heavy rains followed by strong winds destroyed the protective net around the park as well as the basic structure meant for sustaining butterflies and insects. The damage to infrastructure had made the park unsafe for visitors, the letter stated.

The department has not mentioned when the park will be re-opened or when repairs will be completed.  “The 30-feet high net cover of the park has been severely damaged. Some pillars inside the park and other structures have also been battered. To prevent any untoward incident, we have decided to close entry of visitors to the park,” said Prafful Mehta, in-charge superintendent of Sarthana Zoo.

Mehta added they were assessing the destruction and every effort would be made to restore the park as soon as possible. He, however, refrained from specifying when repairs would be completed.

Sources said the Butterfly Park, developed at cost of Rs1.48 crore, had not been able to attract too many visitors as it had very few butterfly species. The SMC had got a few butterfly species at the time of its inauguration on December 12, 2008. But after that they could not add to the collection as there was no supplier available in India. Perhaps gauging the situation, zoo authorities had already closed a portion of the butterfly park a few months back.