New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) The National Zoological Park in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan will soon introduce an option on its website allowing visitors to book their tickets up to 15 days in advance.  The new option will also allow visitors to reschedule their outing and refunds on ticket cancellations, an official said on Monday.

As of now, if any visitor wants to visit the zoo, they can only buy tickets on the same day until 5 pm, after which the counters close for booking.

As the central zoo attracts a huge footfall, the zoo’s director said transformation plans are underway and several issues will be addressed in the coming months.

“There were issues with the payment gateway, so we are opening an additional payment gateway for the convenience of visitors," Sanjeev Kumar, director of the National Zoological Park, told PTI.  He said that currently, visitors can buy tickets for the day until 5 pm and they are valid only for the same day. "To address this issue, we will be launching a portal for advance booking.” This facility will allow visitors to plan their visit in advance and book tickets ahead of time, Kumar said.

The Delhi Zoo is situated on a 176-acre site behind the historic Purana Qila and has been a prominent landmark since its inception in 1952.

According to Kumar, this new addition will also be helpful for the management as they will have the data of the number of visitors in advance.

This will provide an estimate of how many people will be coming through online booking, allowing for appropriate arrangements to be made, he said.

Earlier, an official said that there is a transformation plan for the Delhi Zoo, focusing on enhancing its appearance and visitors' experience while making arrangements for new animal species.

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