The deer park of Eco Park, New Town, will be changing hands. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has declared that the present management does not comply with stipulated zoo guidelines and it will be taking over the reins by the end of the month.

The 12-acre Harinalay, situated opposite gate 6 of Eco Park, was inaugurated in February 2016 by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco), that is in charge of Eco Park, had provided the infrastructure needed to house the deer but the forest department held operational control of it.

“It (CZA taking over) is best for the deer. That is because the CZA has more training and experience to handle a deer park,” said Biswanath Sengupta, a forest range officer who has been in charge of the deer on behalf of the forest department.

Ironically, the deer at the park had been brought in from Taratala’s Nature Park because even they were not abiding by the CZA guidelines. “The CZA revoked the licence of the Nature Park after an evaluation in 2014. The animals were transferred two years later. A similar evaluation happened again in 2017 at Harinalay and it was found that Hidco and the forest department were not being able to fulfil all the norms. So CZA will be responsible for the deer park henceforth with Hidco staying in charge of the land,” said Vinod Kumar Yadav, additional principal chief conservator of forests and member-secretary, West Bengal Zoo Authority.

The kind of fencing used, the space available for each deer, the condition of the animals’ medical treatment rooms, food and medicine provided per day etc have to meet the CZA standards.

Sources say one of the main reasons for the handover was the dwindling number of deer. Though no one is ready to go on record,  staffers said there had been some deaths, especially of barking deer fawns.

Eco Park currently has four divided enclosures for the deer and the pathways are carousel-shaped to help visitors get a good view of the park.

“The footfall at Harinalay has grown immensely of late. In winter, the footfall ranges between 100 and 200 on weekdays. On holidays and weekends, the numbers double,” said Sengupta, the forest range officer.

Hidco chairman Debasish Sen sounded relieved at the development. “The deer park has always been maintained by CZA. We were working in collaboration. Sooner or later this handover was scheduled to happen. Honestly, they are better equipped to handle wild animals. We are a municipal body. We don’t have the required expertise in the field.”