CALCUTTA, May 13: The prestigious Science City project located on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass here is in doldrums, with the completion of the first phase delayed by more than three months. The second phase will perhaps take even longer.The massive auditorium of the Science City was inaugurated with much pomp and ceremony last December. The remainder of the first phase was supposed to include a technologically sophisticated space theatre, only the second of its kind in the world (the first being in Japan). Another attraction was the proposed mechanical dinosaur, designed to mimic all the actions and movements of a real life animal.But these ambitious plans have been put on hold because the Union Government has drastically slashed this year's budget allocation. Civil construction work for the next stage which was expected to be completed by March 31, is unlikely to be ready even by the end of June.In the current year, the Union Human Resources Development Ministry has set aside a paltry Rs 5 crore (down from Rs 18 crore two years back) for the National Council of Science Museums, which controls Science City.

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