The entry fee to the VOC Children’s Park next to the zoo will cost more with immediate effect. A resolution in this connection was passed at the Corporation council meeting here on Thursday. .
Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar presided over the meeting. The fee has been hiked from ₹2 to ₹5 for children and ₹3 to ₹10 for adults.
The park in ward 83 was closed for a brief period during the pandemic-induced lockdown. The zoo next to the park remains closed as it failed to comply with the norms laid down by the Central Zoo Authority due to a lack of proper infrastructure.
A few Councillors opposed the fee hike and said the city was entertainment starved. They said that the hike in entry fee would affect footfall. The park recorded an average footfall of 1,034 on Saturdays and 1,916 on Sundays. During the weekdays, the average footfall was 250 persons.
Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap said the entry fee was not revised in the past 15 years. The new rates were fixed by taking inflation into account, he said.
The council also passed a resolution to increase the rate for sterilisation of a stray dog from ₹445 to ₹700. Mr. Prathap said the revision was based on a Government Order passed in 2014.
Before the meeting, AIADMK councillors R. Prabhakaran and D. Ramesh staged a demonstration outside Victoria Hall demanding detailed scrutiny of the allegations of illegal trespassing and rag picking in the Vellalore dump yard.
Published - December 29, 2022 05:36 pm IST
