Scores of visitors at the National Zoological Park are facing difficulties as the battery-operated vehicles have stopped plying since Saturday.

The service has been discontinued as the terms of contract for the current private operator expired on Friday. Also, the park administration did not get any interested parties while reissuing tenders.

Introduced about a decade ago, the battery-operated vehicles were  popular with families coming in with children and

elders. The private operator was running 10 such vehicles at Rs. 35 per head for adults and Rs. 20 per head for children between 5-12 years. 

The average footfall at the Delhi zoo is about 5,000 visitors per day. The number goes up to 10,000 to 12,000 on weekends and public holidays. A large chunk of these visitors are foreign nationals.

Officials said, the first tender was opened in January but there was no response from any company. “The second tender was opened on February 12, but only one company responded,” said Riaz Khan, zoo’s curator (education).