Hyderabad: Virtual Safari, Virtual Eco Theme Park to come up at Botanical Garden

The park is being developed in an area spread over 106 acres in Night Safari area adjacent to the Botanical Garden

Hyderabad: Visitors at Botanical Garden, Kothaguda will be able to experience the culture and lifestyle of tribal people, besides learning more about human beings association with wildlife, environment and nature virtually as Telangana State Forest Development Corporation (TSFDC) is developing Virtual Safari and Virtual Eco Theme Park.

The park is being developed in an area spread over 106 acres in Night Safari area adjacent to the Botanical Garden. Initial works like entrance arch, renovation of the existing building into indoor theatre and demo room were in advanced stages of completion. The new Virtual theme park would be ready in a couple of months, TSFDC Chairman V Pratap Reddy said here on Saturday.

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The idea was to develop Botanical Garden as one of the major tourist attractions in Hyderabad. There were lots of features for people, especially children to learn about flora and fauna. Efforts were being made to add more attractions and draw more crowds to Botanical Garden, he said here on Saturday.

Apart from Botanical Garden, the TSFDC is also developing Urban Parks in different areas. Last year, four urban parks, including Veduru Vanam, Thumukunta, Vana Drushyam, Lalgadi Malakpet, Chandana Vanam, Gowdelly and Forestrek Park, Chilkur have been developed.

Among these parks, the Forestrek Park at Chilkur was big hit with visitors. Every day about 400 to 500 people visit the park and during weekends, the number increases to 1000 and more, said TSFDC Managing Director G Chandrashekhar Reddy.

The TSFDC is also working on increasing its revenue from different sources with effective planning and plantations. During 2014, the TSFDC was in losses of Rs.8 crore and last financial year, Rs.80 crore profits were earned, he said, adding the current financial year, targets have been set to earn at least Rs.100 crore, he said.

The revenue in 2022-23 increased by 90 per cent over the last year and 2023-24, it will increase further by another 30 percent due to the price increase and demand for the Forest Stewardship Council, Germany certified produce from corporation areas, he added.