Zoo suspends Safari Park until new buses arrive

Deputy curator blames contractor for negligence

The Nehru Zoological Park has suspended the Safari Park in the wake of the breakdown of a bus during a safari on Sunday.

Sundays are crowded and almost 20,000 people visit the zoo on that day. Last weekend, a bus broke down on top of a hill. Many passengers claimed that they were very close to wild animals and they feared for their lives. However the zoo officials deny the claims.

“The bus broke down at around 3:30 pm and it is the same time that lions and tigers go back to their night house, which is their feeding place. The location where this incident happened was 1.2 kilometre away from the Night House,” explained BNN Murthy, deputy curator of the zoo.

The deputy curator narrated that as soon as he received information about this incident; he inspected the area for the presence of wild animals but could not locate any nearby.

Murthy informed that that services to the safari park have temporarily been halted because the buses are not in a good condition and the safari park would be thrown open only after the zoo gets new buses.

Currently there are four buses which are being operated by a contractor who has been hospitalised for the past 20 days due to ill health.

“The contractor was informed many times for the upgradation of buses but he doesn’t seem to be interested. Also there were many attempts from the zoo authorities to invite contractors but nobody seems to be interested in taking up this contract. The Safari Park was shut down for a week in the months of June, July and August, so that the buses could be repaired.

The services were resumed only after the repair took place. But it can’t be closed for a longer time as people want to experience the thrill of watching the wild animals in open. The buses pass through uneven terrain in the Safari Park and the repairs are common. It needs to be done on time so that the breakdown could be avoided,” noted Murthy.