A citizens' group is collecting signatures to protest the proposed 20-fold hike in the entry fee at the Jijamata Udyan, also known as Rani Bagh, a report in this paper said yesterday. The group is claiming that with the hike, the entire garden becomes inaccessible to the poor.

The civic authorities have mooted a proposal for the entry fee for Rani Bagh to be raised from Rs 2 to Rs 25 per person for children and from Rs 5 to Rs 100 for adults. We are against such a jump in entry fees. The Rani Bagh is Mumbai's largest green public space with a 53-acre garden and zoo. By hiking fees to such an extent, the authorities are not just cutting off the public from the zoo but also from accessing the open garden space.