From August 1, morning walkers will have to buy a ticket to enter Banabitan, the last remaining patch of green of Central Park.
The decision has been taken by the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation, to which the park was transferred last August to develop it into an eco-tourism destination. “The revenue will be used for the maintenance of the park,” said conservator of forest, parks and garden, Rabindranath Saha.
While daily entry tickets will cost Rs 10 for the 5am to 9am time period, a monthly ticket can be bought for Rs 300, a half-yearly one for Rs 1,600 and a yearly one for Rs 3,000.
Entry fee for the rest of the day, from 10am, was increased to Rs 50 since February for visitors aged five years and above. “We spoke to morning walkers and most of them understood that we needed funds to maintain the park,” Saha said.
Do you support the decision to charge morning walkers? Write to saltlake@abp.in