Delhi Zoo to reopen for public from August 1 in two shifts, entry only through online booking

NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo authorities have informed that the National Zoological Park will reopen for the public from August 1 in two shifts - 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 4 pm – in the wake of declining COVID-19 cases in the national capital.

Delhi Zoo Director Ramesh Pandey said that entry to visitors will be granted strictly through online booking. The visitors will have to strictly abide by the Centre’s COVID-19 safety protocols, he added.

All COVID-19 protocols will be observed. Online booking will be opened from July 31, the Delhi Zoo Director said. 

Delhi Zoo to reopen from 1st August with COVID-19 safety protocols. Tickets can be booked online from 31st July: Delhi Zoo Director, Ramesh Pandey.@CZA_Delhi pic.twitter.com/nAwssyU2DU — Prasar Bharati News Services पी.बी.एन.एस. (@PBNS_India) July 26, 2021

The zoo administration has also introduced cycles for staff and asked them not to use bikes or cars inside the premises.

Pandey also said the zoo recorded only 124 animal deaths, the lowest in the last three years, while it remained closed for the public in 2020-21.
There are 94 species and 1,162 animals in the zoo at present, he said. "We are moving towards having 100 species soon," he said.

After a year under lockdown since the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Zoological Park was earlier opened on April 1 this year. 

More than 1,600 visitors had arrived at the Delhi Zoo on the very first day. However, the National Zoological Park was again closed in the wake of rising coronavirus cases in mid-April and May. 

The Delhi zoo was shut for visitors on March 18 last year, a week before the nationwide lockdown that lasted 68 days was imposed. Although most services gradually resumed in the last few months, plans to get visitors back to the zoo were hit by cases of avian flu earlier this year.

The first case of bird flu was reported from the zoo on January 15, when a sample from a brown fish owl that was found dead in its enclosure tested positive. Seven more samples collected from the zoo premises also tested positive over the next few weeks.

The Delhi zoo is one of the Capital’s most popular tourist spaces, receiving 15,000-20,000 visitors on weekdays before the pandemic.