Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Kankaria Zoo is preparing to launch a structured bird-watching and education programme, with a committee approving a proposed rental of ₹50 per binocular while a separate ₹30 registration fee for participants remains pending.
The binocular rental was fixed during a meeting of the Recreational, Cultural and Heritage Committee held on Friday, October 9, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar – Ahmedabad. The proposed registration fee has not yet received approval and is expected to be placed before the committee at its next meeting.
The programme, planned under the zoo’s ‘Vision Over Kankaria’ initiative, is intended to help visitors identify birds and learn about their nests, chicks and wildlife conservation. Officials cited school and college students as a key audience for the educational activity.
Visitors who choose to use binoculars will be able to rent them for ₹50 each. The equipment will not be compulsory, and people or groups who do not want to use binoculars will not be required to pay the rental charge. The reported plan is to allow participants to register at the site once the programme is formally implemented.
The activity builds on bird-watching sessions that have already been conducted two to three times a week with a bird-watcher group, according to the report. Those sessions included information on identifying birds and observing nests and chicks. The civic body is now considering a more organised format involving zoo officers and guides working under them.
Kankaria Zoo receives more than 3 million visitors every year, including a significant number of students, making the facility an important public setting for environmental education in Ahmedabad. The proposed programme would use the zoo’s visitor base to connect recreation with awareness of urban wildlife and conservation.
The civic body is expected to spend approximately ₹1 lakh on binoculars and other equipment for the initiative. Zoo officers and guides are planned to support the sessions and provide information about bird identification and conservation. However, the programme’s final operating arrangements, including the registration fee and implementation process, will proceed only after the required approvals are obtained.
