Chief minister Shibu Soren and deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto during the presentation in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, March 10: Berwey, about 2km from Birsa Munda Zoological Park in Chakla, fits the bill for night safari, says expert Bernard Harrison.

With this assessment, the state forest department has taken a step forward towards setting up a night safari park, which, if it sees the light of the day, will be the fifth in the world.

Bernard Harrison of Bernard Harrison & Friends Limited had supervised creation of the night safari park in Singapore in 1994. After visiting the two shortlisted sites — Berwey and Chakla — he gave a presentation in the presence of chief minister Shibu Soren, deputy chief minister and forest minister Sudesh Mahto, chief secretary Shiv Basant, principal chief conservator of forest A.K. Singh, principal secretary to chief minister Sukhdev Singh and other senior officials last evening.

The presentation was organised by the department of forest and environment.

About 18km from the city, Berwey offers 41 hectares of protected forest, comprising degraded Sal and bamboo. Besides, the hills in the background and its undulating and uneven terrain are the other draws, Harrison said. On the other hand, Chakla, with its plot of 23 hectares, can be developed as a butterfly park.

The idea behind night safari is to take the visitors on a tour of the jungle at night when animals are active because most tropical mammals are nocturnal. The safari will have nocturnal houses too. In Singapore, nights are cool and a tourist can cover the entire stretch in 45 minutes with one stop and enjoy the company of wild animals up close.

During the presentation, Harrison said there could be a provision for aquarium with fresh water and marine tanks. To this, acrylic tunnels can be added so that people can watch fish under water. There could be a separate entry fee for the aquarium or it may be clubbed with the charges of the night safari, Harrison proposed.

Berway compares favourably with the Singapore night safari, spread over 40 hectares. “The Singapore project took three years and $40 million in 1994. Today, it is a viable safari because 70 per cent of visitors are tourists,” Harrison said.

This prompted him to advise the forest department to prepare the detailed project report very carefully because “profit depends on market, demographic set up, and so on”.

Harrison offered a word of caution too. “Night safari is not for everybody. If you keep the rates too cheap, you will attract the wrong kind of people,” he warned.

Post-presentation, chief secretary Shiv Basant told Harrison: “You have laid down the road map, we will get in touch with you soon.”