Bengaluru: The Railways’ first movable freshwater tunnel aquarium at Bengaluru’s KSR Railway Station can now treat themselves to a visual spectacle at the new distinctive aquatic park that has been developed by the IRSDCL for passengers waiting. The 12 foot long Aquatic Kingdom will also be an educational joyride as visitors will experience a life size fish kingdom.

The Aquatic Kingdom has been developed in collaboration with HNI Acquatic Kingdom in Bengaluru’s KSR Railway Station, said Niyaz Ahmed Qureshi of HNI Aquatic Kingdom. They wanted to develop this area so we came up with this concept. This is the railways’ first aquatic kingdom.

 

Nowhere else in India will you find Aquatic Kingdom? This has been done at the Bangalore railway station for the first time. The Aquatic Kingdom will have a 3D selfie area, where a big fish will pop out of the aquarium for a photo. With an almost 20 feet glass periphery, the aquarium houses planted, marine and tropical sections with varied flora and fauna in soothing colours.

The project work had started in November – 2020 and the living exhibits have travelled a long way to this aquarium, he said. He described about the project that right now we have 120 varieties of fish. Most have been brought from outside the country. The concept we have used is that of a marine aquarium which is saltwater. Then freshwater, behind you can see, there is an Amazon River forest concept.

Then a planted segment and a tunnel aquarium, the entry fee has been set at ₹ 25. “We wanted to target rural India through railways, he added. For the railways, it is an attempt to change the way railway stations are perceived. IRSDC Nodal Officer Saurabh Jain told to the media that we saw this on YouTube and contacted the firm to see if something like this could be done in a railway station.

There was perfect synergy. We had a vacant space and this is something people and children can enjoy while waiting for a train. Even for outsiders, it will be an attraction. It should not only be a point of journey. It should be the destination in itself.

It is also home to various aquatic animals such as the alligator gar ranging from two to three feet, stingrays, eels up to three-and-a-half feet, sharks, lobsters, snails and shrimps. The aquarium has been adorned with natural rocks and splashes of driftwood, artificial coral rocks.