Who is boozing inside Byculla zoo?

Beer bottles found in one of the shallow fishponds raise questions of lax security

Beer bottles found in one of the shallow fishponds raise questions of lax security

Byculla Zoo authorities, who constantly boast about the high security measures at the zoo, including prohibition of outside eatables inside the zoo by the visitors, were left dumbfounded after the presence of beer bottles in one of the fishponds was brought to their notice.u00a0

Despite a strong presence of BMC staffers and private security guards posted at all the entry points of the Byculla zoo, empty beer bottles were found floating inside a fishpond

Though it's been just a year since the security has been beefed up at the zoo and private security guards posted at all the entry points, the incident clearly indicates that there are chinks in the armour.

Officialspeak
When questioned, one of the officials stated, "Visitors are not allowed to carry any food items inside the zoo. It's next to impossible to sneak in anything inside the premises, but it appears that some miscreant managed to. Under normal circumstances, offenders are penalised for sneaking in eatables."

However, another staffer, requesting anonymity, said, "Someone from inside might have helped sneak in the drinks. But it is very difficult to say so, because it's almost impossible to do so using the main entrance, while the remaining gates are used only by the BMC staffers."

According to Dr Sanjay Tripathi, zoo veterinarian, "With tight security at the entrance, bottles, be it water or cold drinks or juice, are confiscated at the entrance itself.

Hence, the question of having beer bottles inside the zoo is baseless. No visitor is allowed to stay behind after 5 pm. Moreover, the caretakers don't allow anyone to come near a cage or a pond."

However, contradicting Tripathi's claims, a BMC official associated with the zoo, said, "There are other ponds in the zoo that are deeper than this one and the possibility of more bottles being present cannot be denied."

While zoo director, Anil Anjankar, couldn't be reached for comment as he was out of town, replying on his behalf, Dr Tripathi said that he would look into the matter and would further tighten the security.