Delhi zoo to reopen from Aug 1; online tickets available from today

A senior official said that visitors can buy tickets either through the zoo’s website or at the entry gates using QR codes.

The National Zoological Park in Delhi is all set to reopen from August 1 with Covid-19 safety protocols in place and online tickets will be available from Saturday, zoo officials have said.

The Delhi zoo was shut for visitors on March 18 last year, a week before the nationwide lockdown. (PTI)

According to Delhi zoo director Ramesh Kumar Pandey, the park will open in two shifts -- 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm. "We are planning to open the National Zoological Park from August 1. Preparations are on in order to keep things in order. It will be opened in two shifts as earlier," Pandey said. "Online booking will open from July 31, a day ahead of the opening. We will try to maintain Covid appropriate behaviour and sanitise the zoo to keep it disinfected," he added.

A senior official said that visitors can buy tickets either through the zoo’s website or at the entry gates using QR codes. "This time, we will allow 1,500 entries in each slot, adding up to 3,000 daily visitors,” he added.

CCTV cameras in large numbers have been installed in the zoo for proper vigilance. The sanitisation drill will continue twice daily before the zoo opens and later after it closes for the day.

"We will see how it goes and accordingly we will think of increasing or decreasing the number of visitors," Pandey said, according to news agency ANI.

The Delhi zoo was closed on March 18, 2020, and remained so for over a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and avian bird flu. It reopened on April 1 this year but was shut again on April 15 due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

(With agency inputs)