This story is from April 28, 2016

Heat takes a toll on revenue, footfall declines by 50%

Footfalls to VOC Park mini zoo has come down compared to last summer.Because of the scorching heat this year, the number of visitors have reduced by close to 50%.
Heat takes a toll on revenue, footfall declines by 50%
Coimbatore: Footfalls to VOC Park mini zoo has come down compared to last summer. Because of the scorching heat this year, the number of visitors have reduced by close to 50%. According to the supervisor of the zoo, there were 500 daily visitors to the zoo but this year it has come down to about 300 people daily. Because of the heat, people prefer to stay indoors, said the zoo officials.

Two years ago, the annual income of the zoo was around 30lakh, said an official. But now, due to the rising temperatures and other recreational activities in the city, the zoo is making huge losses. "Last April, nearly 2 lakh people visited the zoo. This year, only one lakh have visited, so far," said the official.
While the rains played spoil sport last year, this year the heat is keeping visitors away, he added. He said that they had generated a revenue of approximately Rs17lakh in 2014. This has fallen to Rs15lakh in 2015. "This year, we are sure the revenue will drop further," said the contractor.
"Last April, we received 500 visitors daily. But this year, we are seeing only 250-300 visitors a day. People generally visit the zoo only after 4.30 pm," said the contractor of the zoo. Shreeja Mohanaraj, a resident of Kurumbapalayam said that she often visited the zoo during the summer vacation.
"Earlier, we used to make at least two trips to the zoo. This year, we visited the zoo only once, and that too in the evening," she said.
"Summer vacation is when we see children visiting the zoo. But this year, the number of visitors has drastically reduced. The zoo is generally crowded by 10am. But this year, people are visiting only after 4pm," said a staff worker. During the off season, several schools bring groups of children to the zoo.
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