Maharashtra Government renamed Gorewada International Zoo as “Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park”, in memory of Balasaheb Thackeray, an Indian politician. This zoological park is situated in Nagpur, Maharashtra and covers about 2,000 hectares of the forest land.

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will inaugurate the Indian safari at the zoo on January 26, 2021.

Note

3 special 40-seat capacity vehicles have been arranged to tour the Indian safari.

Background

i.In 2019, The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change decided to set up an International Standard Zoo and Biopark on the forest land at Gorewada, Nagpur.

ii.The Govt of Maharashtra gave permission to establish International Zoo, through Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (FDCM. Ltd.), Nagpur.

About Balasaheb Thackeray:

i.He is also called as Bal Keshav Thackeray( 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012)

ii.He started his professional career as a cartoonist with the English-language daily ‘The Free Press Journal’.

iii.Later he founded Shiv Sena in 1966, a right-wing Marathi regional political party in India

iv.He was the founder of the Marathi-language newspaper ‘Saamana’.

v.It is to be noted that he did not hold any official position during his political career.

About Maharashtra:

National Park– Navegaon National Park, Chandoli National Park, Gugumal National Park, Tadoba National park(tiger reserve), Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Tiger Reserve– Pench Tiger Reserve(Shared with Madhya Pradesh), Melghat Tiger Reserve, Sahyadri tiger reserve