Decision on reopening zoos, parks & gardens to be taken during Monday meeting: Forest Minister

Darjeeling: The Forest department will be holding a meeting on Monday, chaired by minister Rajib Banerjee, to decide as to when the zoos along with parks and gardens in the state should be

reopened.

The meeting will also decide as to which forest areas can allow a certain degree of relaxation for tourists to visit.

This was announced by the minister on the sidelines of a Forest department meeting at Mantadari in Belakoba, Jalpaiguri during his tour of North Bengal.

When questioned as to when zoos, parks and the Bengal Safari near Siliguri would open up, Banerjee stated: "We have to take such decisions with caution owing to the pandemic. However, with tourist facilities and ecotourism opening up, we too will open up. We are also contemplating some relaxations for tourists to visit certain forest areas. We have to balance steps of getting back to normalcy and also prevent the spread of the virus."

Incidentally, with the outbreak of the pandemic, zoos had also been shut down since the end of March. Forests remain out of bounds for tourists for three months starting from mid-June every year. In many areas, including the Dooars in North Bengal, forests are the main tourist attractions.

"Though the Central Zoo Authority has already issued advisories to open up, we have decided to adopt a more cautious approach as in case of any eventuality, we will have to take due responsibility. In today's meeting, we have reached a decision regarding relaxation in certain forest areas. However, we will have a threadbare discussion regarding all these issues on Monday and make a formal announcement," he stated. Prior to this, he had visited Khoirbari in Alipurduar where the CZA has given a go-ahead to convert a leopard rescue centre into a mini zoo.