13 December,2025 09:17 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
CM Fadnavis will lay the foundation stone of the bird park virtually, officials said. File Pic
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis will lay the foundation stone for a new exotic bird park in Mumbai's Mulund area on Sunday at 5.30 pm, civic officials said.
The chief minister will lay the foundation stone virtually, they said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will develop a modern, international-standard Exotic Bird Park at Nahur in Mulund (West) to create a new tourist attraction for citizens and visitors.
On the occasion, the new building of Shrimati Mansadevi Tulsiram Agarwal General Hospital in Mulund (West) will also be inaugurated, an official statement said.
The bird park is being developed under the guidance of BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr Avinash Dhakane, the official statement said.
The project will be built on a 17,139.64 sq metre plot owned by the BMC. Of this, around 10,859 sq metres will be used for specialised aviaries for exotic birds. The remaining area will include ticket counters, public toilets, a souvenir shop, a cafe and underground parking, it said.
Officials said that the park will help raise awareness about birds, wildlife and environmental conservation, while also generating revenue for the civic body.
The BMC said that the bird park will feature 24 separate habitats, designed to recreate natural environments. Visitors will be able to see rare and colourful birds from across the world in spacious and secure aviaries.
The park will be divided into themed zones representing Australia, Africa, the Americas and special pheasant zones. Species on display will include Galah cockatoos, Eclectus parrots, Sun conures, Golden conures, Senegal parrots, Jardine parrots, ostriches, toucans, scarlet macaws, and golden and silver pheasants.
Each enclosure will be tailored to the birds' natural behaviour, supporting animal welfare and conservation. Facilities such as a bird hospital, quarantine area, bird kitchen and internal service roads are also planned.
The park is expected to function not only as a tourist destination but also as an environmental education and biodiversity awareness centre.
According to Zoo Director Dr Sanjay Tripathi, the BMC plans to make the project self-sustaining through film and photography shoots, advertising, corporate sponsorships, bird and garden adoption schemes, souvenir shops and food outlets.
The Shrimati Mansadevi Tulsiram Agarwal General Hospital, established in 1958, has been rebuilt after its old structures were declared unsafe in 2017.
Construction of the new building began in 2019 at Kadampada, Mulund (West). The facility has a ground floor plus ten floors, built on a 9,712 sq metre plot, with a total construction area of 59,045 sq metres.
The hospital's capacity has increased to 470 beds, including 310 general beds and 160 super-speciality beds, which will be commissioned in phases.
In the first phase, 110 beds will be operational with services such as medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, ENT, ophthalmology, paediatrics, dermatology, dentistry, diabetes and hypertension clinics, and laboratory services.
Further phases will add DNB specialist services, gynaecology and maternity care. Within six months, facilities such as CT scan, MRI, blood bank, dialysis, ICU and NICU will be introduced.
Super-speciality services including cardiology, cardiac surgery, plastic surgery, nephrology and urology will be added in later stages.
