The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo in Byculla, popularly known as Rani Baug earned a revenue of Rs. 1.35 crore in two months since it reopened in November 2021, recording a footfall matching the pre-covid times, officials said. According to Zoo authorities, the penguins, tigers and hyenas have been the star crowds attractions so far.
Between November 1 to December 27, the zoo recorded a footfall of 3.34 lakhs. November recorded slightly more footfall than December.
The zoo, which shut down owing to the Covid-19 lockdown on March 25, 2020, has lost a significant amount of revenue during the pandemic. Between March and June 2019, it had collected nearly Rs 1.87 crore through the sale of tickets. Prior to the lockdown, during peak season, its revenue collection touched Rs 4.5-Rs 5 lakh per month. However, revenue collected in 2020 up to March 15 was Rs 1.92 lakh.
After 11 months of remaining shut, the zoo reopened on February 15, 2021, but had to shut down again in April owing to the second wave. It reopened again in November after a gap of seven months and it drew over 1,621 visitors and garnered revenue of Rs 68,725 on day one (November 1). " In the first eight days since it reopened zoo recorded a footfall of over 50k visitors and the total revenue collected was Rs 21.18 lakh. Our teams are well equipped to handle the crowd. The stringent precautionary measures have been in place since it opened and we have not let the guard down even for a single day. In November we collected a revenue of Rs. 68,00,600, while revenue of Rs. 66,98,925 has been collected between December 1 to December 27," said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, Director of the zoon.
The Byculla Zoo also gets many visitors in the form of morning and evening walkers. However, currently due to Covid-19 only a morning walk is allowed in the zoo between 6 am to 8.30 am followed by the operational timings of the zoo which is 9.30 am to 6 pm.
Total Revenue: Rs. 1,34,99,525
Total footfall: 3,34,144
November 1 to November 30
Revenue: Rs. 68,00,600
Visitors: 1,68,430
December 1 to December 27
Revenue: Rs. 66,98,925
Visitors : 1,65,714
