Nandankanan zoo introduces online ticket booking system

Bhubaneswar: The Nandankanan zoo has introduced an online ticket booking system for the benefit of visitors facing hardship due to the demonetization move.

The visitors can book tickets online that will cut down on the amount of time they have to spend standing in long queues to buy entry tickets, said Siddhant Das, PCCF (wildlife).

The zoo on Thursday celebrated its 57th foundation day here.

He said debit and credit cards will be accepted at the counters to facilitate entry of visitors in the post-demonetisation environment.

” The zoo has tied up with a bank to provide visitors with the facilities of swipe machines as well. By introducing cashless methods, we will be able to save more than Rs 10 lakh annually as Rs 14 lakh is spent annually for printing tickets. Maintaining an online booking system will only cost us Rs 3.5 lakh annually,” said zoo director, Sisir Kumar Acharya.

As many as 30,000 daily visitors throng to the famous open zoo every day.

However, the online ticket booking will cost visitors Rs 2 extra. While the entry ticket per person is Rs 25, the visitor will have to pay Rs 27 for getting the tickets booked through the online.

Forest and environment secretary Suresh Mohapatra said 40 CCTV cameras has been installed inside Nandankanan Zoo to ensure the safety of visitors.