Chennai’s latest attraction – an ecopark – established at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore at the Pallikaranai marshland here was inaugurated on Friday by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin.
The eco park, inaugurated through video-conferencing from the Secretariat, has a 2-km walking track, green spaces and display boards on migratory birds, flora and fauna for the visitors.
According to a press release, the Pallikaranai swamp, protected by the Forest Department, is home to 176 species of terrestrial and migratory birds, 10 species of mammals, 21 species of reptiles, 10 species of aquatic organisms, 50 species of fish, nine species of snails and accommodates over 459 living organisms. As per the 2019-20 census, about 2,65,313 birds have been identified at the swamp, the release added.
Appropriate initiatives were launched to protect the flora and fauna in the area and a 1,700-m long compound wall has been built along the Tambaram-Velachery road to protect the swamp. The State Forest Department had sent a proposal to the Centre to declare the Pallikaranai marshland as Ramsar site. (Ramsar is a city in Iran where in 1971, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands was signed. Hence, the name Ramsar site).
Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K Ramachandran, Minister for Environment and Climate Change Siva V Meyyanathan, Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, Principal Secretary to Environment and Climate Change Supriya Sahu and other senior officials participated in the inaugural function.