Chandigarh: Rock Garden sees 2,700 visitors on Day 1 of reopening

On the first day of the reopening of city’s Rock Garden, the tourist place recorded high footfall with 2,700 people visiting the sculpture garden till 5:30 pm on Wednesday. On a usual day, about 1,500 people visit the garden.

With the daily caseload dipping in the city after the second wave, the UT Administration had ordered to reopen the Rock Garden Tuesday.

Officials at Rock Garden said that there were 2,700 visitors on the first day, of which 2,500 were adults and 200 were children. The ticket per adult is Rs 30, while it is Rs 10 for children. He said, “On routine days, the number stands around at 1,500. On New Year’s eve, however, it was the highest at 7,000. In fact, the weather is also pleasant and it was closed for a while, thus people came here.”

The footfall is expected to rise on weekends. Thus, several city residents suggested that if the rush increases at recreational places, the administration must keep such places closed during peak hours.

Cinemas not open yet

Although the Chandigarh Administration has allowed cinemas to open at 50 per cent capacity, the cinema halls in the city didn’t open on Wednesday.

The PVR cinemas is yet to announce the date of reopening.

The management of Elante Mall said that sanitisation is going at present. “Currently sanitisation and training processes are going on. PVR is yet to announce the exact dates of reopening,” said an official, adding that scenario would be clear only by the end of the week.

Following the first wave, as the cinema halls had reopened, they had recorded dismal footfall. On the first day of reopening only one person watched a movie. Besides the apprehension regarding catching the Covid-19 infection, the absence of any new releases contributed to the low footfall.