Jijamata Udyaan

Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo
Statue of Jijamata and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at VJBU & Zoo
Date opened 1861
Location Mumbai, India
Coordinates 18°58′41″N 72°50′12″E / 18.9781154°N 72.8367457°E / 18.9781154; 72.8367457Coordinates: 18°58′41″N 72°50′12″E / 18.9781154°N 72.8367457°E / 18.9781154; 72.8367457
Land area 50 acres (20 ha)
Memberships CZA[1]
Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo
Type Botanical Garden & Zoo
Location Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Area 50 acres
Owned by Municipal corporation of greater Mumbai
Operated by Director Zoo, MCGM, Mumbai
Visitors 8000 to 30,000 (on holiday)
Status Open
Species 843 [2]
Collections Sundari(glass pane tree), Castanospermum australe, Coccoloba uvifera

Jijamata Udyaan formerly called Raani Baag (meaning Queen's Gardens) after the original British name Victoria Gardens, and now also known as Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo, is a zoo and garden covering 50 acres located at Byculla, in the heart of Mumbai, India. It is the oldest public garden in Mumbai.[3]

In 1835, British administration granted a large plot of land in Sewri to the Agro Horticultural Society of Western India for a botanical garden. That land was later acquired for a European burial ground.[4] In 1861, construction of a new garden was commenced on 33 acres in the Mount Estate, Mazagaon (now included in Byculla). The flora from Sewri garden was transferred to this new garden named Victoria Gardens which was formally opened to the public by Lady Frere on November 19, 1862. Agro Horticultural Society of Western India continued to maintain Victoria Gardens till 1873 when the society's end led to the municipal corporation taking over the garden's upkeep. In 1890 the garden was extended by 15 acres especially for the zoo.[3]

The garden also houses the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, a staff building in Greco-Roman style erected in the memory of Lady Frere, an equestrian statue of King Edward VII of England made of black marble (originally installed near the University of Bombay) known as Kala Ghoda and the David Sassoon clock tower.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Search Establishment". cza.nic.in. CZA. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 "PLACES". Maharashtra State Gazetteers-Greater Bombay District. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14.
  4. 1 2 "Mumbai's Byculla Zoo: A testament to the period that shaped city's architectural landscape". indianexpress.com. Indian Express. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
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