How to fish-watch in Mumbai

Byculla zoo with have the city's only functioning aquarium after its inauguration early next year, giving visitors an illusion of underwater walkingA walk-through aquarium with acrylic tunnels, which will make visitors feel as if they were walking under water, and a space for more Humboldt penguins, which are among its star attractions, are part of the glitzy makeover planned for the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo in Mumbai. Popularly known as the Byculla zoo or Rani Baug, the facility will get the city’s first ceiling aquarium.Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of the Byculla zoo, says the aquarium will have two acrylic tunnels measuring 14 metres and 36 metres, respectively. Likely to be inaugurated by January-February 2027, it will also have cylindrical and pop-up tanks, ceiling tanks and squarish tanks. Spread over 550 sq m, it will host around 60 varieties of marine fish, with a focus on species from the Indian waters. The project will cost over Rs 60 crore.The civic-run zoo sees a footfall of around 5,000 to 6,000 on weekdays, which rises to 15,000 to 25,000 on weekends. The zoo and botanical gardens are a must on the itinerary of domestic and foreign tourists coming to Mumbai. While the launch of the aquarium is expected to lead to a rise in the number of visitors, there are no plans for a separate entry fee.As part of the project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is also expanding the capacity of the enclosure for Humboldt penguins to house 40 of them, adds Tripathi. The Humboldt penguins, which were introduced in the zoo from South Korea in 2016, have seen their numbers multiply from eight (three males and five females), to 25 now. The penguins had drawn huge crowds after they were displayed to visitors, and remain an attraction even today. The Byculla zoo was shifted to its present location from Sewri and was opened to the people in 1863. It also houses the Dr Bhau Daji Lad museum in its premises. The facility is one of the oldest public gardens in Mumbai, and was originally named after Queen Victoria.The development of this aquarium comes at a time when the iconic Taraporewala aquarium on Marine Drive has been shuttered, with plans underway for its redevelopment. This will make the Byculla aquarium the only functioning aquarium in the city after its launch next year.Inaugurated in 1951 and named after Parsi philanthropist D.B. Taraporewala, the Taraporewala aquarium has been shut since the Covid-19 pandemic. The construction of the coastal road from Worli to Marine Drive has affected the structural stability of the building. The 4,369.05 sq m plot has three buildings—the aquarium, the office of the commissioner of fisheries, and a structure that earlier had a water filtration system and canteen.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends