Siliguri: Wildlife enthusiasts of north Bengal and tourists visiting the region will have to wait for some more months to see lions roaring at the open enclosure of the popular Bengal Safari Park on the outskirts of Siliguri.

Authorities are yet to ready the infrastructure required to introduce the lion safari at the park.

A senior official of the state zoo authority said that they could not start the infrastructural work because the model code of conduct was enforced in March.

“We can float the tender for various jobs only after the election is over, that is, by mid-June. Thereafter, at least one month will be needed to issue a work order. Then, monsoon will disrupt the work by two-three months,” the official said.

A popular tourist destination, the park is also known as the North Bengal Wild Animals Park. It is the only open-air zoological park in the region and is spread across 297 hectares off NH10 on the fringes of the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

On February 12 this year, a lion and a lioness were brought from the Sepahijala Zoological Park of Tripura under the animal exchange programme. The seven-year-old lion and the six-year-old lioness are currently in quarantine at the park.

A source in the park said that for the lion safari, they have to prepare infrastructure such as display curl, off-display curl, night shelter, ramp area, nursery curl, loop, installation of water pumping facility and sewerage. The enclosure will come up on a 20-hectare plot.

“It is evident that work will start in a full-fledged manner only after the monsoon. Thus, it won't be possible to start the lion safari before winter,” said the source.