CHENNAI: School children who usually visit Vandalur zoo and Guindy children’s park as a holiday getaway would be in for disappointment this December. Both the zoo on the outskirts of the city and the park located in the heart of the city would remain closed till mid-January, thanks to Cyclone Vardah that pounded the Chennai Coast. The zoo in Vandalur near Tambaram attracts maximum crowd during the holiday season in May and December, besides Christmas and Pongal. Located inside the city, the park is a favourite destination for children who throng with their parents and enjoy the greenery.
While the zoo has been completely destroyed with enclosures of animals being damaged completely and collapse of parapet wall that would risk the safety of visitors, the park looks completely green sans greenery as more than 50 per cent of the trees have been uprooted. “The zoo would be busy from mid-December till mid-January due to half-yearly, new year and Pongal holidays for school children. But this year, it will be impossible for us to open the zoological park for any visitor since it would risk their safety. And we are having tough time in providing food to the animals,” a senior official of the Vandalur zoo said.
And the situation at the Guindy Park is no different. With uprooted trees strewn across the sprawling campus, workers have an arduous task of clearing them and restoring the park to its past glory. Both the zoo and park are expected to open their doors for the public only in the third week of January. But if the children plan to travel a bit, Vedanthangal bird sanctuary in Kancheepuram district could be a better choice since more than 17,000 birds have flocked there. The bird sanctuary is just 75 km from Chennai.
