Rains and storm triggered by a nor'wester caused extensive damage to Nandankanan Zoological Park here today prompting ahthorities to close it to visitors for two days.
However, all inmates of the zoological park and the visitors present there during the rains were safe and no one has been hurt, its deputy director Jayant Das said.
There has been no damage to the animal enclosures in the sprawling park.
"It has been decided to close the zoo for two days from tomorrow as a large number of trees uprooted in the nor'wester have blocked many areas, including roads," he said.
Power supply has also been disrupted, affecting many operations including the ticketing system of the zoo, he said adding it would take take time to remove the uprooted trees and damaged structures.
Park officials said many trees were uprooted and sheds and other structures damaged, while a 33 KV electric line to the zoological park and botanical garden got snapped under the impact of strong surface wind and heavy rains.
The magnitude of the loss to the zoo caused by the storm is being ascertained, they said.
Several visitors who were present in the park were stranded inside the zoo for over an hour.
The nor-wester also wrought havoc in areas close to the zoo like Raghunathpur, uprooting trees, blowing up roadside kiosks and damaging hoardings, billboards and electric cables.
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