Power outages, broken exhibits & poor upkeep: What ails the iconic dino park and museum in Gujarat’s Balasinor

But for a tract that aims to go 1 of the large tourer destinations of the country, the parkland paints a representation of neglect. From overgrown vegetation successful the parkland and seepages and breached exhibits successful the Rs 25-crore state-of-the-art depository to a assistance irrigation task adjacent that experts assertion poses a menace to the protected site, the Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum appears to beryllium plagued with problems.

When The Indian Express visited the place, the overrun pathway starring successful the 72 hectare-park meant galore exhibits further successful were astir inaccessible. Meanwhile, astatine the depository that laic crossed the road, immoderate different visitors who had travelled present from extracurricular Gujarat were successful for a disappointment: the depository was facing a powerfulness outage, shutting down the large integer displays.

According to a elder GSI official, “earnest efforts” are being made to person the tract included successful the UNESCO list. “It’s an highly important tract for probe connected dinosaurs and there’s a anticipation that much uncommon fossils are located astir it,” this authoritative says.

Meanwhile, a unit subordinate astatine the parkland promises that “the vegetation volition beryllium removed soon”.

According to GSI’s ‘Dinosaurs of Gujarat’, a February 2017 work of the antithetic probe projects connected the dinosaur fossils successful the state, Dwivedi and Mohabey were conducting a systematic geological mapping erstwhile they stumbled upon the bones astir 1 km westbound of Raiyoli.

“Subsequently, the Paleontology Division of Western Region of GSI confirmed them to beryllium of the dinosaurs. After the ceremonial processes, the excavation enactment commenced successful January 1983 connected the occidental slopes of the hillock facing Raiyoli village, utilizing crow-sbars, spades, shovels, chisels, hammers, plaster of Paris, cloth bandages, and chemicals,” it says.

The bones were yet discovered to beryllium to Rajasaurus narmadensis and Rahiolisaurus gujaratensis, ample bipedal carnivorous theropod dinosaurs believed to person walked the world successful the Late Cretaceous play immoderate 67 cardinal years ago.

Although akin discoveries were subsequently made successful antithetic parts of Gujarat, what made the Balasinor 1 peculiar was that it was 1 of the largest hatcheries of dinosaur eggs successful the world, 3rd lone to Aix-en-Provence successful France and the Mongolian Gobi Desert.

The anticipation of the find of a caller taxon of dinosaurs successful Gujarat had sparked planetary involvement successful the 90s – successful December 1997, a squad of 50 paleontologists, including an American paleontologist Kirk Johnson, presently the manager of Natural Museum of National History Museum successful Washington DC, visited Balasinor to survey the dinosaur eggs.

The erstwhile royal household of Balasinor welcoming a squad of 50 palaeontologists that visited the fossil parkland successful December 1997. (By peculiar arrangement)

It was besides astir this clip that Aaliya Sultana Babi, the nawabzadi of the erstwhile princely authorities of Balasinor and an amateur paleontologist and conservationist, began to instrumentality keen involvement successful the site. Popularly known arsenic ‘Dinosaur Princess’, Aaliya has been progressive with the site’s preservation ever since.

Before the country was discovered to beryllium a fossil site, locals would usage the eggs to grind masalas, she tells The Indian Express.

“After they were proven to beryllium fossils, I came crossed a pistillate successful a section colony grinding masala with what looked similar a dinosaur egg. On person examination, it was so a fossilised ovum covered with chilli paste. Since then, it’s my prized possession, humorously named the ‘masala anda’,” she laughs.

Aaliya Sultana Babi, nawabzadi of the erstwhile princely authorities of Balasinor, holds up ‘masala anda’. (Express photo: Aditi Raja)

According to officials and locals, the tract has been a root of employment for residents and sees astir 2,500 visitors a month. This fig goes up during weekends, adjacent going to arsenic galore arsenic 2000/day astir Diwali.

Paleontologist Ashok Sahni, prof emeritus astatine Panjab University, Chandigarh, who acceptable up the Dinosaur of India Gallery successful that city, says there’s overmuch astir the country that hasn’t been explored adjacent though “much wealth has been poured into the museum”.

“The occupation is that the authorities moves dilatory and by the time, astir of the things are lost,” helium says.

On their part, officials of the Gujarat tourism section accidental that portion determination had been plans to grow the scope of the park, it was connected reserved wood land, which limits the magnitude of enactment that could beryllium undertaken there.

“There was a program to make 2 pits wherever the fossils were recovered and erect a solid partition to let tourists to spell wrong to spot however the fossils were discovered but it hasn’t taken off,” says 1 official.

However, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Mahisagar District NV Chaudhary says that portion the authorities wood section tin wide the tract of vegetation, much ambitious plans astatine the tract necessitate the cardinal government’s permission.

Overgrown bushes and shrubbery successful the fossil parkland successful Raiyoli, Balasinor. (Express photo: Aditi Raja)

Experts besides spot the adjacent Lift Irrigation Pipeline Project arsenic a large threat. Aimed astatine providing irrigation facilities to h2o deficient villages of astir six talukas of Kheda and Mahisagar district, the 40-lakh litre vessel and pipeline task stands conscionable 100 metres distant from the bound partition of the fossil park.

According to Sahni, the task poses a menace not lone to the protected tract and besides galore perchance undiscovered fossils successful the area.

But Balasinor Sub-Divisional Magistrate Hiren Chauhan, besides co-chairman of the Fossil Park Society that’s formed to guarantee inter-departmental coordination for the park, believes the h2o pipeline task is imperative to the area’s development.

“The task is coming up aft pursuing owed process and volition screen the 5 adjoining districts facing h2o scarcity. We person to look astatine improvement portion besides balancing heritage,” helium says.

What ails the museum

Problems besides plague the depository analyzable located 500 metres from the fossil park. Inaugurated successful 2 phases successful 2019 and 2022, the sprawling 25,000 sq. ft installation has 16 galleries and allows tourists to acquisition its displays done 3D projection mapping and holograms, sensor-based interactive consoles, 360-degree interactive Virtual Reality Tour, Animated Diorama Dynamic sculpture installation, a 5D theatre and a integer forest.

For its attraction and upkeep, the Gujarat authorities has contracted the Ahmedabad-based VAMA Communications. However, issues specified mediocre manpower and security, powerfulness outages and h2o leakage and non-functioning displays often plague the museum.

Vandana Raj, laminitis and Chief Executive Officer of VAMA Communications, which is besides down the Jallianwala Bagh memorial analyzable successful Amritsar, says that the institution maintains implicit 40 museums crossed India. She besides attributes the problems plaguing the Raiyoli depository to “structural issues” and “irregular payments” from the authorities government.

“Repair enactment is undertaken regularly but waterlogging successful the older conception of the depository is simply a structural occupation since it was handed implicit to us. We besides look a strain with funds arsenic contempt the clause for monthly payments, the authorities merchandise funds lone erstwhile successful 4 months,” she says, adding that repairs person present been undertaken.

But SDM Chauhan denies that funds are an issue, alternatively emphasising connected the request for amended supervision.

“I person written aggregate letters to the bureau urging them to flooded the problems. Government payments whitethorn beryllium delayed but they are usually cleared wrong a fewer weeks,” helium says. “The contented is that of supervision. The method faults are anyhow not related to payments, and the bureau is expected to support them connected its own.”