Darjeeling: With a rush of visitors to the Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri, the park has decided to keep its gates open on Mondays also, the day of the weekly closure. This will continue till the visitor footfall is high.
"We remain closed on Mondays for upkeep work. However, with the recent surge in footfall, we have decided to keep Mondays open till this trend continues. We had recorded the highest footfall and revenue on New Year's day and Christmas," stated Kamal Sarkar, Director of the Bengal Safari Park.
On average, the Park has been recording 1,500 visitors daily. On New Year's day, 5,565 visitors resulted in a revenue generation of Rs. 6.7 lakh, the highest ever on any single day. On Christmas the Park recorded 3,700 visitors with tickets worth 5.4 lakh being sold," added Sarkar.
Located on the fringes of Siliguri, the park is spread over an area of 290 hectares. It is a dream project of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and was inaugurated by her in 2016.
At present, the park has elephants, Royal Bengal tigers, leopards, Barking deer, spotted deer, Sambars, Rhino, six Gharials, a pair of Himalayan Black Bear and birds. It boasts herbivore safari, tiger safari, leopard safari, bear safari and elephant safari.
"We have recently got permission from the Central Zoo Authority to house exotic animals. Talks are on with other zoos. Very soon we will have lions, giraffes and zebras at the Bengal Safari Park," state Forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick stated.