Safari at Nehru Zoo to reopen soon
Authorities to resume services with better crowd management, strict adherence to Covid norms
Hyderabad: Here is some good news for zoo enthusiasts as after a long gap of a year and half, the Nehru Zoological Park, is getting ready to restart their safari experience.
The visitors to the zoo, one of the most visited recreational facilities of Hyderabad, will get to see new attractions such as the reptile enclosure and also experience the safari once again, starting next month. These facilities were closed for visitors owing to the pandemic and according to the zoo officials, the zoo park will be reopened with slight modifications.
For starters, the reptile enclosure, which is a closed space through which visitors walk around, will function in a ‘batch’ model once it is thrown open.
“It takes about 10 minutes to walk through the enclosure and we are planning on sending visitors in batches of 20, to ensure physical distance and safety,” said A Nagamani, the deputy curator at the zoo.
The same approach will be taken up with the animal safari and the officials said it will be restarted but the vehicles will be operated with 50 per cent capacity. “We want to ensure everyone’s safety but we don’t want people to miss out on such experiences. We continue to get frequent enquiries from people asking about the reopening of the safari services in the zoo,” she shared.
Home to over 2,000 animals encompassing 200 species, the Nehru zoo has always been one of the most visited places of interest in the city. It used to get an average of 10,000 visitors on weekdays before the pandemic.
However, it had come down to somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 since its reopening. While in the weekends, the footfall which was used to be over 20,000 prior to 2020 had dropped to the range of 10,000 to 12,000.
With the reopening of popular attractions such as the reptile enclosure, safari and nocturnal enclosure, the officials are expecting a rise in the footfall.
A new aviary, whose construction was completed in 2020, was kept closed for visitors. According to the zoo officials, it is likely to be opened in October. The new aviary will have 36 bird enclosures, with a minimum of two species of birds in each and will house a wide range of Indian and exotic birds such as Golden Pheasant, Amazon Parakeet, Green Macau, Senegal Parakeet and many more.
According to the zoo officials, they have been taking great care to ensure everyone’s safety in the pandemic scenario. “We have mandated masks and put sanitisers at various locations all over the zoo. We are also imposing a fine if someone is not wearing a mask as we want the place to be safe for the visitors,” Nagamani said.
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