The Dhaka Zoo authorities are taking special preparations to receive visitors during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. The zoo is expecting to receive about 70,000-100,000 visitors every day on the Eid day and the next four-five days.
Curator Dr. Enayet Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune on Friday that about 10,000-15,000 people visit the zoo every day. The number of visitors increases by 20,000 or more on weekends and other government holidays.
"During the Eid week the number of visitors usually increases to 100,000," he said.
"We want our visitors to have a pleasurable and safe visit to the zoo. They can watch about 1,500 different kinds of animals and birds here," he added.
The entry fee for the zoo will be Tk20. The fee was Tk10 in the last financial year.
Deputy Curator Dr. Maksud hossain Howlader told the Dhaka Tribune that a five-day clean-up programme throughout the zoo will start from tomorrow.
The zoo authorities will provide fresh drinking water for the visitors by installing five large water tanks at six different spots around the zoo. The capacity of each tank will be 1,000 litres.
A 54-member security force has been formed, including 20 Ansar members, to ensure the safety of the visitors. The team will be headed by Large Animals Section Officer Shamim Hossain.
They will guard six different spots: outdoor parking, control room area, the lion cages, the area between the birds section and the animal museum, the elephant house, the animal nutrition area and the hippo area.
A control room will be opened to give all kinds of information to visitors. Special vitamin and minerals will be added in the food of tigers, lions and other animals to keep them energetic and healthy so that the animals can be stress-free.
All the shopkeepers inside and outside of the zoo have been directed not to harass visitors or sell food items at high price. The authorities will not allow hawkers inside the zoo.
A visitor made complaint about the availability of toilets in the zoo. It has been learnt that there are only three toilets for the visitors which will create a problem during Eid.
Dhaka Zoo, the largest zoo in Bangladesh, was established in 1974 on a 186 acre land. It is operated by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. There are 1500 animals and birds of 121 species including elephants, cheetahs, rhinos, zebras, waterbucks, otters, hyenas, deer, giraffes, impala, black bears, tapirs, hippos, lions, monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons, peacocks, rheas, African grey parrots, cassowaries, owls, ostriches, emus, teals, finches, babblers, eagles, vultures, snakes and crocodiles. The aquarium at the museum has 797 preserved specimens of 23 species of fish.
While visiting Dhaka Zoo yesterday our correspondent found that the clean-up programme had already started and additional counters were under construction at the gate for the smooth sale of tickets during Eid.
