Mumbai: Record crowd at Byculla zoo amid COVID-19, a cause of worry for BMC

The record-breaking crowd at Byculla's Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and the zoo is now a cause of worry for the BMC due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

The zoo saw a total of 29,677 visitors on Sunday. But the worst part was that most of them were without masks increasing the risk of infection.

While the security of the zoo seemed helpless, they could only appeal to people to wear masks.

Popularly known as Rani Baug, the average weekday footfall at the zoo ranges from 4,000-5,000, while it swells to 15,000-18,000 on weekends.

The new addition of some exotic animals to the zoo is the biggest attraction. During summer vacation the average footfall on weekdays went to 12000, while on weekends it goes up to 26,000-28,000.

Last Sunday alone, 30,379 people visited the zoo, the highest number in the history of its existence. However, this Sunday, there was a slight decrease in the number of visitors (29,677). "We appealed to visitors to wear masks for their safety. But hardly anyone listened, most of them did not carried a mask with them. The crowd was also huge, so there was very little we could do, said the sources from the zoo. Like last Sunday, again this time the queue of visitors went on the road.

The Byculla zoo was closed twice during the earlier three COVID-19 waves. After there was a drop in cases in the third wave, the zoo was opened to the public in February. In the last one month, the zoo has recorded 3,68,729 visitors and collected revenue of Rs. 1,42,68, 580.

Dr Sanjay Tripathy, director of the zoo said, "We make announcements requesting visitors to wear masks. Also, we increase the security on weekends."