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Rajiv Gandhi zoo to introduce new ticketing system prior to reopening
Pune’s Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre is considering updating their ticketing system and preparing for the day Maharashtra announces reopening of its zoos
PUNE: With the Byculla zoo in Mumbai likely to open by the end of this month, Pune’s Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre too is considering updating their ticketing system and preparing for the day Maharashtra announces reopening of its zoos. The zoo authorities are planning to introduce the new ticketing system prior to the reopening, which according to them will take place at the earliest. The zoo authorities met officials from Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) garden and information technology departments last month to discuss options to control crowding at the zoo once it reopens.
Dr Rajkumar Jadhav, director, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Centre, said, “We are aware that once the zoo reopens, it will be difficult to manage and control offline visitors hence, we are in discussions with the information technology department of PMC to upgrade the old system of online registration and ticketing for visitors. That way we can control and monitor the number of guests visiting the zoo and also avoid a big rush to the zoo.”
Officials of PMC’s information technology department said that they are planning a completely new and separate portal for the zoo along with making ticketing and reservation user-friendly.
Rahul Jagtap, head of the information technology department, said, “We are developing a ticketing and reservation application which is an upgrade to the old system that was in use earlier. This new app will help make reservations hassle-free and offer UPI, QR codes and other payment gateway options. It will also help with crowd management by giving us centralised data to compartmentalise visits to attractions inside the zoo.”
Jagtap said that the entire idea is the culmination of a meeting on how temples have introduced online booking for devotees and that it will take a month to get the new system up and running. The zoo and the information technology department are also working on procuring information about animals through QR codes to help maintain appropriate distance between visitors and the animals and prevent people from crowding at one place.
The zoo is located at Katraj and has been closed since March 2020 when the nationwide lockdown was first announced in the wake of Covid-19. While the PMC has reopened gardens for the public as part of the easing of Covid norms, the zoo at Katraj continues to remain out of bounds for the public.
