Delhi zoo reopens 84 days after bird flu scare
Park on Wednesday opened its gates for public again, three months after a bird flu scare had promptedashutdownofthepremise.
On Wednesday, the zoo witnessed a healthy turnout, though there were a number of tourists who still said they avoided a visit, fearing the avian flu.
One such tourist who avoided the zoo on Wednesday was B Madhavi, 43, who had come to Delhi with her family from Tamil Nadu.
Wrapped in a grey shawl and a maroon scarf knotted below her chin, Madhavi sat in the tourist bus while the others in her family went inside the zoo.
“I do not want to take any chance. It is the first day of the zoo opening after so many months. I have been watching the news and knowhowseveretheavianfluwas in Delhi,” she said.
Tour operators said that there were many people like Madhavi whopreferredtoskipthezoovisit on Wednesday.
“We did not force anyone. We had announced in the bus that the zoo has reopened and took a vote onavisitbyashowofhands.There were many who did not want to take a chance and stayed back. If a majority of people did not want to go,wewouldhavedroppedthezoo and substituted it with some other location,” said Sayeed Naz, a tour guide who was accompanied a bunch of 20 visitors who had come from Varanasi.
The visit to the Delhi Zoo was cancelledfromitinerariesofmany tour guides after its closure on October 19, last year.
OnWednesday,however,‘Welcome Back’ signs greeted the visitors at the gates.
Zoo officials said the first day— after being shut for 84 days—witnessed over 6,200 visitors. This is higher than the usual footfall of the zoo on weekdays.
“Many people did not know about the opening today. Yet, we managed a great attendance. We are expecting that in the coming weekthefootfallwillincrease.The major attractions were the white tiger,leopard,Bengaltigerandthe lion,” said Riaz Khan, spokespersonofDelhizoo. Apartfromapart of the pelican pond, all enclosures were accessible to the public on Wednesday.