Artists work on wall paintings in the Patna zoo aquarium. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 22: A renovated aquarium house and proposed high-rise fountains are set to add to the attractions at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park in the state capital.

By March, three high-rise fountains would be installed in the old lake on the zoo premises.

Zoo authorities told The Telegraph that while the high-rise fountains would be commissioned by the end of March, plans are afoot to install several smaller fountains at various other locations inside the park.

The renovation of the 19-year-old aquarium house inside the zoo is almost complete. Old equipment have been replaced and new attractions have been added to the fish-shaped aquarium house, which has more than 30 glass panels of various sizes. The renovated work was going on for the past five months.

Abhay Kumar, the director of Patna zoo, told The Telegraph: “The process to upgrade the aquarium house is complete. It now has more attractive interiors, including beautiful paintings by artists and art students. Also, the non-functional items inside the aquarium units such as filters, glasses and pumps have been replaced. The interiors of all these units have been improved with colourful stones, plants and other accessories.”

At present, the varieties of fish on display at the aquarium house include piranha, tiger shark, albino shark, silver shark, rainbow shark, albino rainbow shark, widow tetra, surfed tetra, neon tetra, oscar, gold fish, red cap fish, carp, dollar fish, feather fish, parrot fish, varieties of molly fish, giant fish, ramirezi, flowerhorn, tiger barb, rosy barb, blue gourami, milky carp, lily fish and varieties of angel.

“We have added several new fish, including the colourful cichlid, while revamping the aquarium house. We are also trying to get several giant fish and coloured turtles for the aquarium,” Abhay said.

The aquarium house is a major attraction for visitors coming to the Patna zoo.

“The aquarium is very popular among visitors. In 2010, almost three lakh people visited the aquarium and it generated a revenue of Rs 12 lakh. In 2011, 2.5 lakh people visited the aquarium the revenue was recorded around Rs 10 lakh,” Abhay added.

On the installation of the three high-rise fountains, Abhay said: “We have floated tenders for the installation of high-rise fountains that would be installed in the old lake. The fountains, which would pump water up to 90ft, will also have colourful lights. We would select the agency for this job by mid-February and we intend to complete the work by end-March,” Abhay added.