Visitors in front of an elephant at Nandankanan. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 1: Nandankanan is gradually limping back to normality after losing about one lakh tourists in October because of Phailin.

Nandankanan is famous for 125 varieties of animals and birds and the state botanical garden, which has about 500 varieties of plant species in an area of 75 hectares.

While the zoological garden attracts about 30 lakh visitors every year, the botanical garden attracts more than 15 lakh visitors.

The 125 varieties of animals constitute a collection of 2,235 animals, while from among the plants, the orchid house with 57 varieties, a rose garden with 55 varieties and 200 species of medicinal plants are the major attraction.

Sources said 2.43 lakh tourists visited the zoological park during October last year. But during the same period this year, the footfall was limited to 1.52 lakh because of Phailin, flood and other calamities. On the other hand, the park witnessed a footfall of 1.67 lakh tourists last month and it is likely to grow further in December. Last year, the park registered 2.23 lakh footfall in November. According to the cumulative tourist inflow data, the park is running with an average shortage of 1.4 lakh footfall because of the natural calamities.

Director of Nandankanan Sudarshan Panda said: “Even six years ago, the visitors’ footfall in the zoological garden was below 20 lakh a year. But since 2009-10, the number has crossed 20 lakh. It crossed 29 lakh during last fiscal. Phailin has caused revenue loss of around Rs 7.65 lakh. But the trend of footfall suggests that the loss is likely to be compensated in two months.’’

Papun Mahakul, who came to Nandankanan from Bhadrak, said: “I came here after a long gap. The authorities have now added many things, such as battery-operated vehicles for the physically challenged and the elderly. Wheelchairs are also available now. These small things make a huge difference to the visitors.”

Assistant director of Nandankanan K.L. Purohit said: “We have lost a major chunk of tourists from Bengal because of Phailin as we expect around 70,000 to 1 lakh tourists alone during the Puja vacation every year.’’

Nityananda Mandal, a scientist at a central research laboratory in the city, said: “Many of our relatives from Bengal were eager to come to the zoo this Puja. But, they had to cancel their trip because of the Phailin and the subsequent floods. The two low pressures — Helen and Leher — also caused some panic. In December, we are expecting them to come here and visit Nandankanan.’’

Environmentalist Bijay Mishra, however, said while the zoological park was getting prominence, there was no much effort to popularise the botanical garden, which was equally important with its unique orchid, cactus and rose collections.

“The authorities should encourage students and families to spend their quality time inside the botanical garden as it will ultimately contribute towards spreading the green cause as more and more plant lovers would be created,’’ Mishra said.

The zoological park, on the other hand, is also famous for its four safaris, which are famous for lions, white tigers, deer and bear. The Kanjia Lake, situated between the two parks, have a nice boating facility.

The toy train is also a major crowd puller. There are two souvenir shops and an interpretation centre in the zoo.