Pradeep Vennelakanti Tirupati

A visit to the zoo is becoming costlier for animal lovers, with Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati raising its entry fee for adults by Rs 30 and for children by Rs 20, while four-wheeler charges have been increased to Rs 1,000.

The revised tariffs, approved at the 16th governing body meeting of the Zoo Authority of Andhra Pradesh (ZAAP), came into effect on Wednesday, placing an additional financial burden on visitors, particularly families visiting the popular wildlife attraction.

Under the new rates, adults will have to pay Rs 100 for entry, compared with the earlier Rs 70, while the ticket price for children has gone up from Rs 30 to Rs 50. The charge for bringing a four-wheeler into the zoo premises has been raised from Rs 750 to Rs 1,000.

The cloakroom fee has also increased from Rs 10 to Rs 15 per bag. This marks the third hike in zoo entry charges, following earlier revisions on May 12, 2018, and February 1, 2023.

Zoo curator Anurag Meena said the revised tariffs would help meet the recurring expenditure involved in maintaining the zoological park. The additional revenue would be utilised for animal care, nutritious feed, veterinary services, upkeep of animal enclosures and improvements to visitor amenities.

The increase in four-wheeler charges is also aimed at discouraging excessive vehicular movement within the zoo premises. According to the authorities, restricting vehicle movement would help reduce noise and air pollution and provide a healthier environment for the animals.

However, the authorities have retained the concessional entry fee of Rs 10 per child for students from government schools. The facility is intended to encourage schoolchildren to visit the zoo, observe wildlife at close quarters and develop an understanding of environmental protection and conservation.

The fee revision has nevertheless disappointed several visitors, who feel that the increased charges could make a family outing considerably more expensive. Visitors travelling from other districts are likely to face additional expenditure, particularly if they arrive in hired vehicles.

Madhusudan, a visitor from Nellore, said he was fortunate to have visited the zoo on Tuesday, a day before the revised rates came into force.

Had he visited on Wednesday, he would have had to pay Rs 1,000 for bringing his hired vehicle into the premises. He said the increased vehicle charge, coupled with higher entry ticket prices and other expenses inside the zoo, would substantially raise the overall cost of the visit.

Several other visitors also questioned the decision to increase the tariffs, arguing that the authorities could have explored alternative sources of revenue instead of passing the additional costs on to animal lovers.