Bhubaneswar, Dec. 4: Visitors to Nandankanan zoo will shortly be able to take advantage of an exclusive facility to take care of their children as the proposed specialised baby care centre will become functional by the month's end.
The centre, which will be a part of the zoo's amenities for visitors, will allow around 20 mothers at a time to nurse their children.
The zoo's deputy director Jayant Dash said the construction of the centre would start in a couple of days.
"The centre will be built on a 300sqft area with facilities for drinking water and hot water. There will be seating provision for mothers and their children. In order to ensure safety and security, the centre will not have any windows. We are hopeful of making the centre operational by December 20," said Dash.
Zoo officials said the decision to set up the centre was taken after officials found visitors faced problems in breastfeeding their children in the zoo. "A number of mothers also feel embarrassed to feed their children with thousands of visitors in the zoo at any time. A similar centre is functional at Mysore zoo," said a zoo official.
Tourists also welcomed the idea of a baby care centre. "Tourists come to zoo with small children. In the absence of a dedicated centre, they are often reluctant to feed their children. The new centre will delight mothers," said Aruna Jena, a tourist from Keonjhar.
Work on installing 46 closed circuit television cameras at various locations on the zoo premises has also started. The cameras will keep tabs on the behaviour of visitors. The installation is executed for an estimated Rs 91 lakh by Electronics Corporation of India Limited, a government of India enterprise.
"We already have closed circuit television cameras in the enclosures to keep tabs on the animals' movement and behaviour. The new cameras will help us detect cases of harassment and tourists' behaviour towards the animals as well the behaviour of our staff members," said Dash, adding that the work will be completed this month.
The zoo had a record footfall in 2015-16 with 33.19 lakh people coming to visit - a 14 per cent rise from the previous year, which witnessed 29.04 lakh visitors. The zoo, set up in 1960, at present has more than 2,700 animals belonging to 151 species.