Renovated butterfly park has more to offer now
Trichy: Trichy's butterfly park near Srirangam, one of the most important tourist attractions in the city, has been renovated by the forest department at Rs1 crore after nearly ten years.
Officially known as
Tropical Butterfly Conservatory
, the park had lost its visual appeal in recent years.
"After its inauguration, the park lacked maintenance for over nine years. A proposal was made, and Rs1 crore allocated. We have repaired the damaged infrastructure, renovated the features and painted the entire park since December," district forest officer S Krithiga told TOI. The entrance arch has been renovated and modified, and the damaged pavements have been changed.
Interactive information boards have been installed, and features like amphitheatre, indoor conservatory, breeding lab and restrooms renovated.
"We are introducing new batches of host plants for breeding and nectar plants for food sources at the host plant area. New play items have been set up in the children's park. We are also adding new recreational activities to attract more visitors," Krithiga added.
The Rs8 crore park was set up on 25 acres at Melur near Srirangam in the Upper Anaicut reserve forest area in Nov 2015.
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The conservatory is considered a breeding habitat for more than a hundred species and several thousand butterflies, with features like nakshatravanam, breeding lab, resource garden and host plant area. The park also has attractions such as raasi vanam, amphitheatre, caterpillar walk, island, children's park, and eco shop for recreation.
Some of the facilities at the conservatory suffered damaged during the Gaja Cyclone in 2018. With the 'wear and tear' putting off visitors, officials realised the need for renovation, rejuvenation and maintenance of the park last year. The work which commenced around December recently got over.
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