KOLKATA: The zoos across the state, including the Alipore Zoological Gardens in Kolkata and Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling, and deer parks will reopen on Wednesday after the Covid second-wave break.
The establishments that were shut in March-end are reopening after a gap of more than five months, said a senior forest department official.
Talking to TOI, member secretary of the state zoo authority, Sourav Chowdhury, confirmed receiving the order. “We will open the zoos on Wednesday with all Covid protocols in place,” he added.
Alipore zoo director AK Samanta said that they would strictly follow all Covid guidelines. “People without masks will not be allowed entry. The arrangements have been made in such a way that visitors will have to pass through two sanitisation gates before reaching the ticket counters,” he added.
After purchasing tickets, they will have to undergo thermal scanning before entering the zoo campus. On being asked if there is any special plan to manage the crowd, Samanta said: “During this time of the year, the daily footfall at the zoo hardly crosses 6,000. Given the area inside the zoo, this crowd will not be difficult to manage. If the crowd swells, we will think of taking special measures,” Samanta added.
Markings have been made near the toilets, at the counters, on visitors’ pathways and in front of enclosures to make sure visitors follow social distancing.
According to Samanta, they used anti-viral spray to clean the zoo premises a couple of days ago. Before the zoo opens its gates around 9am on Wednesday, the staff will again clean the campus and the enclosures. The zoo stays open till 5pm, but the last ticket is issued at 4.30pm.
According to an official, they will also re-activate the online system to purchase tickets soon.
Both Alipore and Darjeeling zoos have been live streaming videos of some animals, at least for two hours every day, allowing people to watch them live from their homes.
