The revamped government aquarium at Cubbon Park.
Credit: DH Photo
The revamped government aquarium at Cubbon Park will host close to 100 species of fish and is set to be inaugurated soon. In the first-ever renovation of the aquarium since its opening in 1983, the aquarium now has added new attractions including a 70,000 litre capacity tunnel aquarium and a 90,000 litre Koi fish pond.
The aquarium will also host a museum, a training centre, and an interactive aquarium that allows the visitors to touch and feel a few fish varieties.
“The Koi fish pond is one of the major attractions since these Japanese fish grow up to one metre in length and are very attractive. Also, we will have a feeding station closeby to allow interested visitors and kids to feed the fish,” S Nanda Kumar, director of Namma Bengaluru Aquarium Limited, a private firm that is working on the project under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the Fisheries Department, told DH. The tunnel aquarium will alone host over 250 fish that will surround the visitors to enhance the experience.
The designers have also planned nine theme-based aquariums to be hosted on the first floor while the ground floor will host an ornamental fish museum and the training centre.
“The second floor has a species-based aquarium and
will host over 70 species.
We have recreated the natural habitat of these species here,” Kumar added.
The work is fast progressing with close to 90% of the project completed. Sources in the fisheries department said that they were hoping to inaugurate the museum at the earliest.
Entry fee to go up drastically Since the project has been taken up on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model the entry fee to the aquarium is set to go up drastically from Rs 20 to Rs 80.
For children it will go up from Rs 10 to Rs 25. Entry fees on the weekends will be higher at Ts 100 for adults and Rs 40 for children.
Along with the entry fee the private partners are also planning to include an additional fee for certain activities inside the aquarium.