Now, adults pay more to visit Byculla zoo

Amid chaos, the civic standing committee of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cleared a proposal for hike in the entry charge to Byculla Zoo on Friday with an amendment in the proposal. 

The amendment proposal was mooted by Yashwant Jadhav, leader of House during the meeting for entry charge to the zoo by 50 per cent. According to Jadhav, the entry charge for an adult will be brought down to Rs 50 from the proposed Rs 100, which was accepted. However, there have been no changes for entry fee of families or people visiting the zoo for morning walks.

The BJP and Samajwadi Party, however, boycotted the meeting as they sought a discussion on the matter. BJP group leader Manoj Kotak said, “We are not opposing the proposal but the entry charge should be increased only after development of zoo is completed,” adding there must be clarity on why the entry charge is being hiked and what kind of facilities visitors will get. He further said, “The entry charge should not be hiked in order to restrict number of visitors to the zoo.”

Raees Shaikh, however, refuted Jadhav’s claim stating that no such proposal was tabled in the group leader meet held in April. “The matter was brought up administration as a general discussion and everyone shared their views and this cannot be taken as their stand,” Shaikh said.

Analysis

Penguins have given a new lease of life to Byculla Zoo. While the hike in entry charge may be a subject of discussion for political parties, the renovated zoo has attracted many visitors. Since Mumbaikars will have to shell out more money to visit the zoo, they can expect more animal enclosures.