Hyderabad: Nehru Zoological Park to hike entry fees?

Bahadurpura: Following a huge loss incurred by the Nehru Zoological Park owing to the lockdown during the past seven months, authorities are considering an increase in entry ticket price to compensate the shortfall in revenues.

According to official sources, the Zoos and Park Authorities of Telangana (ZAPAT) may take a call and roll out revised rates soon to mitigate the revenue shortfall that has prompted the zoo to close its gates for almost seven months.

The zoo now charges Rs 50 each for adults and Rs 30 for children up to 10 years. During weekends, the price goes up by Rs 10 each. For other facilities, like carrying cameras, battery-operated vehicles, safari park drive and toy train ride, charges are separate.

Zoo faced 11.5-cr loss during lockdown

Speaking to The Hans India, Curator of Nehru Zoological Park N Kshitija disclosed that the park faced a revenue loss of Rs 11.5 crore during the past seven months. And, despite the reopening of the zoo, the footfalls remained fewer than 50 per cent than that of normal days. "The present footfall is merely 1,500 to 2,000 visitors a day, while it was around 3,500 to 4,000 prior to lockdown," she said.

Earlier, the footfalls on Sundays used to be between 15,000 and 20,000. "Presently, this number has narrowed down to a mere 6,000 due to the prevailing situation. The conservative figure of loss accounts for Rs 1.5 to Rs 1.6 crore a month"

In the financial year 2019-2020, the zoo received around Rs.2.3 crore from the government to feed the animals. It received around Rs.8 crore during 2020-2021 for overcoming the fund crunch.

"Presently, the zoo park is bearing expenses on sanitisation of every component in its purview to ensure the safety of the animals and that of visitors. These measures are actually taking a toll on the overall revenue collection. Though there is no final call has been taken yet, an increase in the entry fees is in serious consideration at a higher level," she clarified.