In Byculla zoo, Dhoondhte reh jaoge
Ever since the time officials of the Veer Jijamata Udyan or the Byculla zoo increased the entry fee to Rs 50 per head (package deal of Rs 100 for a family of four), visitors have been peeved.
They roam all over the zoo, looking for 'animals' and all they end up seeing is: One elephant, a few hippopotamuses, and some deer. A few species of birds-- the African grey parrot, their more common green cousins, military macaws and the latest attraction, the Humboldt penguins. Other animals are in quarantine.
“Visitors come here with their family to see animals and birds and are complaining about the high entry fees and not getting to see enough. In 1980s there were many animals and the place was famous but now Rani Baug has lost its allure," said a staffer on request of confidentiality.
People say that they are not paying just to see the penguins and say it's a waste of time and money to come here. As families queue to enter the zoo, they are forced to leave their water bottles and eatables at the gate.
"Zoo authorities are just looting us by charging high fees, when there is very little to see. There were not very many animals to see, we are disappointed. We bring our children to enhance their knowledge of animals and actually see them in flesh and blood, but instead, this has become a meeting point for couples. In fact, there are more stuffed animals and birds than the real ones," said a visitor.
The zoo is also going to have a distinguished resident move in soon, no less than the First Citizen of Mumbai. The official residence of the mayor of Mumbai will be in this august location. Another irate visitor slammed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for this move.
"Now the zoo will have one more entrant. We hear the mayor is being shifted here. It is pathetic our children cannot enjoy a visit to the zoo like we did as kids," said Mithila Kothare, who now lives aborad and visits Mumbai occasionally.
Another foreign tourist has rated Byculla zoo poorly online. "The zoo is rundown (putting it lightly), with more abandoned cages than occupied. And the occupied cages are dirty and filthy, many of them dark and gloomy. They smell and reek badly. The animals that are left look depressed and sick. Where does all that money go?" wrote the tourist.
Visitors have now begun to register their complaints in a book kept at the exit gate and a security guard watches over it. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, the security staff also conceded, for the fare currently on display, the entry fees are rather steep. The security staff sends photocopies of visitors' complaints to the zoo officials.
Sources said, there are efforts to bring new animals and birds, but that is likely to take some more time. In ambitious expansion plans announced in September 2018, zoo authorities had said they planned to bring in giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, hippopotamus, lemurs and ostriches from the African savannah, kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and black swans from Australia, jaguars, tapirs, hoolocks and gibbons from South Africa and chimpanzees, rhesus and bonnet macaques. There were plans to construct a flamingo island in the zoo.
In August 2018, the BMC had also approved a Rs 59 crore contract to construct enclosures for 10 new arrivals to the zoo, including jackals, hyenas, leopards, wolves, otters, sloth bears and snakes.