Overview

• Nitin Bankar first wrote to zoo authorities on April 30 and again on May 30, demanding that penguin chicks born in March receive Marathi names.
• On June 1, BJP workers demonstrated at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Zoo, arguing that chicks hatched on Maharashtra soil merit local-language names.
• Zoo officials have remained silent on the naming request, offering no timeline for a decision or response to repeated BJP appeals.
• Last week the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation approved a Rs 70-crore aquarium project at the Byculla zoo, with construction to begin immediately and finish within a year.
• Dr Sanjay Tripathi says the new facility will include dome and tunnel aquariums with multiple acrylic tanks, artificial rock work and themed corridors showcasing Indian marine life.