20-acre open-air butterfly park inaugurated in Birsa zoo near Ranchi

Ranchi, Nov 7 (PTI) Visitors can now see 88 butterfly species ranging from the rare Blue Pansy to sun-loving Common Leopard Butterfly at eastern India's biggest open-air butterfly park at Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park (BBBP) here.

The park, which was thrown open for the public on Tuesday, has been built on a sprawling 20 acres opposite to the aquariums in Birsa zoo on BBBP campus, 25km from here.

The park was inaugurated by L Khiangte, additional chief secretary, department of forest, environment and climate change, on Tuesday.

Aimed at imparting educational values along with entertainment to butterfly lovers, the park will help make visitors aware of the importance of butterflies in ecology. The park houses a butterfly conservatory, landscape which includes nectar plants, a walkway and a pond among others.

'The existence of butterflies is important as they help in pollination. A conducive environment has been created in the park so that butterflies can grow naturally,' Dr Om Prakash Sahu, veterinary doctor, BBBP, told PTI.

A 900 square-metre covered conservatory has been built to prevent butterflies from being eaten by birds, Sahu said.

The various species that one can see at the park include the Twany Coaster, Sergeant, Bush Brown, Baronet, Plain Tiger, Lemon Pansy, Common Sailor and others.

The first phase of the park took almost six years to complete. The then chief minister Raghubar Das had laid the foundation of the park on June 29, 2017. However, work started in 2020.

The annual maintenance cost of the butterfly park habitat will be around Rs 25 lakh, officials said.

Spread over 104 hectares of area in Ranchi's Ormanjhi area, the BBBP has about 1,450 animals belonging to 83 species. PTI NAM NAM MNB