LAHORE: The Lahore Zoo has completed its security arrangements for Eidul Fitr by installing 64 CCTV cameras, while e-ticketing will be introduced in the first week of July, Zoo Director Hassan Ali told Dawn.

Mr Ali said the 64 cameras had both day and night vision ability. The cameras had been purchased through a tender and were worth around Rs1.6 million. He said 70 cameras were bought out of which 64 had been installed inside the zoo; the remaining would be installed in the parking area when it is completed.

He further said e-ticketing would be a new feature at the zoo that is going to be functional in the first week of July. Instead of tickets, the visitors would get computer-generated receipts bearing a QR code. He added that the zoo was also introducing online ticketing for which a mobile app had been designed. Visitors would receive a QR code on their mobile phones after which they wouldn’t need to get a printed receipt. The advantage of all these measures would be that the visitors’ data would be automatically updated on the zoo website to determine how many children, adults and special people visited the zoo, he added.

Talking about Eid preparations, the director said that like previous years Rescue 1122, police force, civil defence and a medical dispensary would be functional during the holidays.

Another uphill task, he claimed, was the management of the influx of visitors during the holidays; last year, 80,000 people visited the zoo on the first day of Eid.

“Now, with the mercury touching peaks, we are expecting at least 50,000 visitors on the first day of Eid and the number won’t be much different in the remaining Eid holidays,” he added.

Ali said the zoo usually got jam-packed with just 15,000 visitors. Traffic police have been requested to control vehicular movement at the entrance to the zoo to avoid traffic jams, he added.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2019