Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 1: The new year started on a sour note Thursday for the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP), where the footfall was a mere 12,007 — the lowest in the last 30 years on January 1. The zoological park, which broke all previous records last year by registering a footfall of more than 50,000 January 1, had expected a similar situation this year but intermittent rain played spoilsport.
“Inclement weather kept people indoors and resulted in the low footfall at Nandankanan. This is the first time in the last 30 years that it has rained on the first day of year. We surely did not expect this,” zoo director Sudersan Panda told Orissa POST.
The misery was compounded as the zoo had recently inaugurated a open roof leopard enclosure, the third in the country, and a walk through aviary to lure visitors and boost revenue.
“At a time when we have spent more than `1 crore to build two new enclosures, it is surely disheartening that a meagre 12,000 people turned up at the zoo Thursday,” a senior official said.
The zoo had recently registered a footfall of 34,181 — the highest for Christmas Eve in the past three years, raking up revenue of more than `5 lakh.
Nandankanan zoo is spread across 362 hectares, including Kanjia Lake and houses a total of 2,321 animals, including more than 40 carnivores. Officials said the ropeway facility at the Botanical Garden adjacent to the zoological park and tje toy train service would begin in six months.
