Mysore Palace will also open with 5-day week, 10 am – 5 pm rule; No illumination, no Sound & Light Show

Mysore/Mysuru: The Karnataka Government has allowed all State Zoos to open from June 8 (Monday) provided all precautions are taken. Like other public places, sanitisation and taking necessary precautions have been mandated.

Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru Zoo) had announced earlier that they will start operations as soon as the Government gives its green signal. They had informed that only limited people will be allowed, routes of visitors will be closely monitored and the number of people visiting will be restricted.

In a circular, the Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) stated that Zoos have been asked to allow a particular number of visitors, taking into cognisance the infrastructure, space, facility and manpower to ensure physical distancing at all times. Accordingly, arrangements have to be made for staggered entry of visitors for the day, the circular reads.

The ZAK’s 28-page ‘Standard Operating Guidelines on Reopening Post-COVID-19 Lockdown’ will be followed when the gates are open. <<https://starofmysore.com/mysuru-zoo-prepares-for-cautious-re-opening/>>

Some of the guidelines include all the visitors and staff shall wear a face mask at all times and all safari vehicles should have an occupancy of not more than 50 percent of the total space available to ensure physical distancing.

Safe distance between visitors required to ensure social distance is 6 feet (2 metres). So, the number of visitors, who can be safely accommodated at any given point of time, is 3,100 inside the Zoo. Safely, 166 visitors per 10 minutes and 8,000 visitors per day can be allowed, the guidelines say.

This morning, the Zoo has been completely cleaned and all the surfaces where the people will come into contact have been sanitised. Workers have washed the animal cages, railings and barricade surfaces and metal and wooden railings. “We are ready to host over 8,000 visitors per day with all the guidelines adhered to. But in the starting days from tomorrow we may get about 1,000 visitors a day,” said Mysuru Zoo Executive Director Ajit M. Kulkarni.

Palace too open

Mysore Palace too will open to visitors from tomorrow along with a lot of restrictions in place. The Palace will open for only five days a week and will be closed for tourists on Saturday and Sunday and additionally on Government holidays. Only 350 persons will be allowed inside from 10 am to 5 pm and per day, only 3,500 visitors will be permitted inside, Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya told ‘Star of Mysore’ this morning.

Social distancing boxes have been drawn in front of ticket counters and all the entry gates are already sporting the boxes where the tourists will stand before entering the Palace premises. “Loudspeaker announcements will be made both in Kannada and English at all entrance gates and people will not be allowed to bring their luggage inside,” Subramanya added.

Apart from sanitising hands and preventing people from entering the Palace without masks, the Palace Board will sanitise mobile phones too as there are chances of mobile phones exchanging hands inside the Palace when people request others to take photos. “Till the end of June, there will be no illumination of the Palace and there will be no Sound and Light Show,” Subramanya said.