Bangalore: The city will soon have a butterfly park of international standards at the Bannerghatta National Park, providing a boost to tourism, a top official of the forest department said.

The Rs 3.5 crore project which will come up on a seven acre site would be almost totally funded by Union Department of Biotechnology and was expected to be completed in two years time, S K Chakrabarti, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden said.

The park would have butterfly pathways where flowering species, which support butterflies, would be planted.

The centre of attraction in the park would be a 45-ft high butterfly glasshouse, a dome like structure, which will comprise a butterfly and insect museum.

The project is being carried out jointly by University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) here and city-based Ashoka Trust for Environment Research, Chakrabarti said.

Seed money of Rs 5 lakh had already been released by the Department of Biotechnology for the project, he added.

PTI