NEW DELHI: It has artificial waterfalls, landscaped gardens and that great modern-day magnet -- selfie points.
It takes Faizan nearly 30 minutes to park his Maruti Swift Dzire: the unpaved trail to the lake is chock-a-block with other vehicles, and the parking lot at the lake can only accommodate 50-60 cars far from the number of visitors on this sunny Sunday afternoon in an otherwise cold January.
According to Delhi forest department officials, on typical weekends, the sanctuary home to leopards, striped hyenas and golden jackals -hosts up to 500 visitors a day. The number is likely an underestimate wildlife experts who frequently visit the sanctuary say the figure is closer to 1,000 per day on weekends.
One major reason for such large crowds could be the low price of entry -tickets are priced at Rs 10 (entry for children below the age of 5 years is free), while it costs another Rs. 10 per recording device (including smartphones).
In February 2023, Delhi's environment minister Gopal Rai formally opened the eco-tourism spot near Neeli Jheel for visitors. A few months before that, Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena had inaugurated four artificial waterfalls at the lake, along with a 4-km long trekking trail, as part of a larger eco-tourism plan for the area.
To be sure, the sanctuary has always been open for visitors, though till late 2021, the entry fee was Rs 500 per person.
As Neeli Jheel is around 16km inside the sanctuary, most visitors are obliged to drive their private cars. To be sure, the sanctuary does have some golf carts to take visitors to the lake, but there are only 10 such vehicles, they do not set off from the sanctuary gate till they are full, and they have no windows means that the 16km journey to the lake on a dusty, unpaved which route can be quite tedious.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 16, 2024-Ausgabe von Hindustan Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 16, 2024-Ausgabe von Hindustan Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Palestinian PM Resigns Citing 'New Reality' Of War In Gaza
The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of war
Future Perfect: The Kids Are All Right
Gill and Jurel hold out promise by simplifying a challenging chase to help India seal series
Akshay feels 'blessed' to have worked with OG Ramayan cast
Director Akshay K Agarwal shot a music video, Humare Ram Aaye Hai, with the cast of the 1987 TV show, Ramayanactors Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri - in Ayodhya recently.
Musk's firm gets nod for Sat Net; joins Jio, Bharti
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said.
A temple, 169 years in the making
Through decades of design and reworks, hurdles in engineering and construction, HT pieces together how the grandeur of the Ram Temple was reclaimed
'Political interference' forces Vihari to quit Andhra cricket
After Andhra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage with a four-run defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday, senior batter Hanuma Vihari launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), saying he will never turn up for the state again.
Shafali, Kapp lead Capitals to a 9-wicket win over Warriorz
A blazing fifty by Shafali Verma (64₹, 43 balls) helped Delhi Capitals make a mockery of a target of 120 and open their account in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Making 'unbelievable things believable', the Ayhika way
The India No. 7 was an inspired pick for the world team event and she repaid the faith, beating the Chinese world No.1
'Connected TVs to reach 45 mn by 2024-end in India'
With improvement in broadband penetration, Indian households are increasingly opting for connected or addressable TVs.
India chip strategy makes progress as $21 billion in proposals received
The Indian government, after years of watching from the sidelines of the chips race, now has to evaluate $21 billion of semiconductor proposals and divvy up taxpayer support between foreign chipmakers, local champions or some combination of the two.