Chennai: The children’s park in Guindy will reopen to visitors from Friday, after remaining shut for a week following an outbreak of avian influenza (H5N1) in its Vedanthangal aviary that killed around 40 birds within a week.The park authorities have carried out multiple rounds of sanitisation and disinfection across the park, including the aviary, over the past week. “Veterinary experts from the animal husbandry department also inspected the park and were satisfied with the sanitising and disinfection works,” said a senior wildlife official.Citing the approaching summer holidays as one of the reasons for reopening, the official said the visitor footfall is expected to rise during the holiday season. On regular days, it records around 2,000 visitors, while weekend footfall rises to about 6,000. During summer and holiday seasons, daily attendance often exceeds 6,000, according to park authorities.The park managers have obtained a new Metrowater connection to the park recently. Hitherto, the water from the tanks inside the Guindy National Park (GNP) was drawn and supplied to both visitors and the wildlife in captivity. Now, with the new water connection, dependency on the water from the tanks inside the GNP will be done away with, the official explained.
