By IANS,
Zirakpur (Punjab) : In order to curb pollution and maintain the environment’s ecological balance, visitors who come to Punjab’s Chhatbir zoo can use a battery-operated vehicle rather than their personal car inside the premises, officials said Wednesday.
The idea was introduced by the Punjab forests and wildlife department.
By using the battery-operated vehicles, visitors can avoid the hefty charge they would usually pay for using their personal car.
“We have introduced two battery-run vehicles in Chhatbir zoo on Oct 7. If we find this attempt successful then we will add more vehicles to our fleet. These vehicles are eco-friendly and do not make much noise so they are ideal for zoo conditions,” R.K. Loona, chief wildlife warden (Punjab), told IANS.
Chhatbir zoo is one of the largest zoos in India. It is spread over an area of nearly 202 hectares and lies in the protected forest area.
“The entry ticket for a private car is Rs.250 whereas one can take our battery-run vehicle for rent by just paying Rs.50. It can easily accommodate 12 people and visitors can stop the vehicle wherever they want,” a zoo employee told IANS.
He added: “We are experiencing a very good response and both the vehicles are always booked.”
Chhatbir is around 10 km from here and around 20 km from state capital Chandigarh.
This zoo has nearly 1,000 wild animals and birds, belonging to about 100 different species.