HYDERABAD: Are you planning a visit to the Nehru Zoological Park for an adventurous safari trip through the tiger and lions enclosures? Then, be prepared to return home with disappointment. The Safari Park at the Zoo has been closed for visitors for over four months now and it is still uncertain when the zoo officials plan to reopen it.
‘The vehicles are not in a good condition’ - has been the often heard response from the zoo authorities when asked by the visitors about the safari. Frequent breakdowns of the safari vehicles has handicapped one of the best features of the zoo park, that attracts most number of visitors.
Last November, a group of tourists had a narrow escape when their safari vehicle stopped moving abruptly in the middle of Lion’s park giving nightmares to the occupants of the car.
This is not the first time the safari services have been terminated but earlier the services were restored within a short span of time. But this time, the Zoo authorities are unsure about the date of the restoration of the services.
Another reason might be that the contract for the maintenance of the vehicles, which is taken care of by a private organisation, was terminated in January leading to closure of safari park. Officials said, although they have submitted a requisition to the Forest department, their efforts are met with no success as the department said it is helpless in this matter citing poor finances as the reason. “We have placed a proposal for new six vehicles and have planned to procure them by March. But we couldn’t meet with our target due to the lack of funds,” G Rama Krishna Rao, curator, Nehru Zoological Park said.
Many animal lovers have expressed sadness over the termination of the safari trip as there are good number of people who look forward for the safari trip whenever they visit the zoo.
“Where else can we watch a tiger or a lion from such close quarters?” questioned P Lakshminarayana of Warangal, who was disappointed when he came to know about the safari’s cancellation.