Tholkappia Poonga, the nature reserve in R. A. Puram has been formally re-opened. Chief minister M. K. Stalin took part in this formal event held on Friday, October 24 morning on this campus located off D G S Dinakaran Road, near the Ambedkar Mantapam.
Now, while people who want to walk inside the Poonga can do so in the mornings and in the evenings by buying a pass ( daily, weekly, monthly pass is sold online on the Poonga website), visitors need to book a ticket online; there are limited passes and access is allowed only in the early evenings.
School and college groups who wish to go on guided walks inside the Poonga have another online access facility to do the advance booking.
A large variety of animal, reptile, insect and bird life habit this campus and this has been documented.
This area was part of the large Adyar estuary, which then became a dump yard for waste and debris and was finally restored as a protected nature zone in this part of the city.
It was closed for many months for renovation and repairs. Many models of small reptiles and insects are now located at various spots in the Poonga and the walkways have been completely relaid.
There is a spacious viewing deck that allows people to get a bird’s eye-view of the green reserve and also make use a viewing apparatus fitted here, to look at birds that visit or nest here.
A long, elevated walkway which runs above the busy D G S Dinakaran Road at the South Canal Road junction, allows visitors to move from the west section to the eastern section where another part of the estuarine waters exist, though much of it is still very polluted.
Details on features of the Poonga, admission booking guidelines and facility are at – https://www.crrt.tn.gov.in/
