Bannerghatta to phase out unsafe safari vehicles

BENGALURU: After two lions blocked and followed a safari (Innova) vehicle at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) some ten days ago, officials at the popular park have decided to phase out Innova vehicles, which are seen as unsafe for visitors, as they don’t have safety grills.

Mr Santhosh Kumar, Executive Director, Bannerghatta Biological Park, told Deccan Chronicle that they have decided to phase out Innovas in a phased manner and retain Mahindra Boleros which have safety grills in all windows and windshields.  

After taking stock of  the situation, a proposal will be sent to the governing council under the Zoo Authority of Karnataka to withdraw these  vehicles and allow only buses and other vehicles that have all safety measures in place, Mr Kumar said.

At present, the Bannerghatta Biological Park has four Mahindra Boleros, one Innova, one Mahindra Xylo and two old Mahindra vehicles that are used for the safari.

Four more new vehicles have been added to the fleet recently. These  will be sturdy and visitors will be safe in them, he said. Removing unsafe vehicles at once will impact BBP revenues and affect the services.  These vehicles will be removed in phases after taking the approval of the governing council, Mr Kumar said.