NEW DELHI: The tragic incident at the Delhi zoo could have been avoided had the guards posted there been more vigilant. It also exposed the fact that the security staff were not properly trained to manage a large crowd, spot potential mischief makers, impose discipline on visitors and teach them how to respect animals and behave in the zoo environment.
In fact, Praveen, the guard posted at the white tiger’s enclosure, had reportedly seen Maqsood throwing stones at Vijay about 10 minutes before he jumped over the iron railing. Praveen claimed on Wednesday that he had even whistled to caution Maqsood and other “unruly” visitors. He also said it was difficult for him to manage nearly 100 visitors trying to catch a glimpse of the animal.
The Delhi zoo has outsourced the entire security work to Eagle Hunter Pvt Ltd, a private agency. There are about 42 guards, who work in three shifts—morning, afternoon and evening. This makes up for about 14 guards per shift to manage 20 beats in the zoo. Many enclosures even remain unmanned. Moreover, their attrition rate appears to be quite high as most guards TOI spoke to said they were new, some only a few days old in the zoo. Their training seems to be quite general in nature, not suited for the complex needs of managing zoo visitors.
“We get basic training for all kinds of security jobs. It’s not specific to the zoo. But managing crowd is part of our training. We whistle to disperse or alert crowds,” said Abhilash, one of security guards from Eagle Hunter.
Despite these claims, the guards at the zoo appear to be untrained for the challenges. “People scream, throw stones at the animals. What can we do if so many people misbehave? It is not possible to drag each one to the director’s office,” said another guard.
The guards carry wireless sets to communicate with each other. At times they also carry lathis to discipline the crowd. Riaz Khan, curator (education), said that every other day there are people trying to do some mischief. “We call the police. They are here every weekend when the crowd gets unmanageable. There is also a PCR van waiting outside the zoo,” he said.
Zoo officials do not document the number of visitors being fined. “Once in a while the guards bring erring visitors. As per the Wildlife Protection Act, we can fine them Rs 2,000. But we usually impose Rs 100 or Rs 200 fine depending on the offence,” said an employee, who is in-charge of the security at the zoo.
When TOI visited the zoo on Wednesday, there were visitors who seemed drunk. They screamed and created nuisance, being indifferent to the fact that their behavior could disturb animals. Even guards appeared to be soft with such visitors.
TOI | Sep 25, 2014
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