Smoking in Zoo Banned, Mysore Zoo News

Smokers, beware. The authorities at Mysore zoo will slap a visitor up to Rs 200 fine if (S)he is caught smoking tobacco inside the premises. There is general notification to ban smoking in public offices and facilities, but the zoo, of late, has taken it seriously. Executive director of the zoo is strict on this, and recently, the staff attached to the facility were fined for violating the regulation. They were caught red-handed by the head, a staff said. Mysore zoo authorities have decided to strictly say 'no' to smoking inside the premises. Irritating smoke and carelessly thrown cigarette butts will no longer bother either the visitors or the animals. Officials have been penalizing the smokers, but it is being implemented strictly in the recent times. Zoo staff have been directed to keep an eye on people enjoying a puff while going around the zoo, which is premium green lung of the city. Signboards have also been put up at prominent places in the zoo, asking the people not to smoke. Lokesh, a heavy smoker, says though he smokes tobacco at regular intervals, he doesn't feel like smoking inside the facility because of its serene and salubrious atmosphere. He has visited the zoo several times, but had not smoked tobacco inside "even once", said the youth, who is in mid-20's. The century-year-old zoo, spread across 79 acres and housing nearly 1,450 animals of 170 different species, including exotic ones, of late has been pulling crowds in big numbers. The total length of the zoo's pathway is 3.2 km. In the previous fiscal, it attracted over 3 million visitors, perhaps the highest by any zoo in India. Executive director B P Ravi told TOI that there is a standing instruction to ban smoking in all public facilities, and it is being strictly followed here too.