Bengaluru city railway station gets India’s first aquarium
Aquarium has attractive marine displays for Rs 25 entry fee
BENGALURU:
India’s first ‘Aquatic Kingdom’ in a railway station was formally thrown open to the public on Thursday at KSR Bengaluru Railway Station by its first patron Mohammed Ismail and first child visitor Samriddhi Jain in the presence of SWR’s Bengaluru division DRM Ashok Kumar Verma, ADRM/A/SBC, and Railways and IRSDC officials.
The aquarium is a one-of-its-kind aquatic park based on the Amazon River concept and promises to be a visual treat and a passenger’s delight, IRSDC said in a release on Thursday.
The ‘Aquatic Kingdom’ boasts of many attractive displays, including a tunnel aquarium, a 12-foot paludarium, exotic fishes and murals at a reasonable entry fee of Rs 25. The novel aquarium is an initiative of IRSDC in association with HNi Enterprises and a nod to the spirit of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The aquarium has safety features like CCTVs and fire extinguishers. The area is wheel-chair accessible and visitors need to follow Covid protocols.
‘This aquatic kingdom will entice passengers and visitors and it will not only be an enjoyable experience but also educative to experience a life size kingdom of fishes here.Even following strict COVID related protocols, up to 25 visitors can visit the aquarium at a time,’ IRSDC MD&CEO S K Lohia said.
The 12-feet long aquatic kingdom is Indian Railways first paludarium housing myriad flora and fauna, and its entrance gives a glimpse into marine life, with a beautiful dolphin humbly greeting visitors with a slight bow and a smile, the release said.
Company to run aquarium
HNi Enterprises specializes in customised aquariums and has received various awards from the government of Karnataka. The company has been allotted an unutilised area in the railway station of about 2,400 sq ft for a licence fee of Rs 24 lakh per annum.
IRSDC has been entrusted with the mandate to undertake facility management at five railway stations–KSR Bengaluru, Pune, Anand Vihar, Chandigarh and Secunderabad– to enhance customer experience and make travel a safe and hassle-free experience.
Shortly, IRSDC will be undertaking facility management of 90 more stations in a phased manner, it added.
About the Author
