Alipore Zoo sees rise in footfall as many picnic spots remain out of bounds

Kolkata: The Alipore Zoological Gardens witnessed a significant rise in footfall on Sunday a day after picnic spots such as Victoria Memorial, Indian Museum and Science City were closed in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak.

"On usual Sundays, the footfall of visitors hover at around 6,000. However, today is Sunday and the footfall has crossed 10,000. At around 3 pm, approximately 12,000 visitors were reported and they are still thronging the zoo," said an official of the zoo.

On Saturday, the state government issued a notification mentioning Victoria Memorial Hall will remain shut till further notice while access to Science City and Indian Museum has also been restricted till March 31.

"I had come to the zoo in the morning today. I had a plan to visit Victoria Memorial and Indian Museum in the evening. Just now I came to know that both Victoria Memorial and Indian Museum are closed. I am feeling bad that my trip has been foiled due to Coronavirus," said Hemanta Kumar Panda, a resident of Odisha who came for a three-day trip to Kolkata along with his family on Saturday.

The Alipore Zoological Gardens is taking several precautionary measures to thwart any possible impact of Coronavirus.

"Visitors are allowed to enter the zoo premises only after proper screening. At the ticket counter and the zoo gate, mask and sanitisers have been made compulsory for the officials," said Asis Kumar Samanata, director of Alipore Zoological Gardens.

The Central Zoo Authority had directed all zoos in the country to screen visitors for Coronavirus and maintain sanitation measures at entry and exit gates.