TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The 2015 end-of-year holiday period saw record-breaking numbers of visitors flock to Ragunan Zoo, with 182,061 visitors recorded - surpassing last year's number of visitors, which stood at 173,000.
"This a new record for us," said Ragunan Zoo's Public Relations officer, Wahyudi Bambang, on Friday, January 1, 2015.
Furthermore, continued Wahyudi, the figure has never been seen since Ragunan Zoo was established in 1864. "Last year was a record-breaking year - turns out that record is to be broken within one year," he said.
Initially, Ragunan Zoo's management estimated that around 100,000 visitors will pass through Ragunan's gates - with a maximum estimate placed at around the 170,000 mark. "We are grateful that the public is enthusiastic about this zoo," said Wahyudi.
In order to ensure its' quality of service, the Zoo's management has deployed an additional 200-300 extra staff to secure the Zoo. "We were also assisted by scout reserves, which were deployed by Pasar Minggu district police," continued Wahyudi.
To accommodate all visitors on January 1, the Zoo has changed its' operating hours - its' gates opened earlier by 30 minutes at 07.00, while its' closing hours were pushed back to 4:30 pm from 4 pm.
Wahyudi said that the public's high enthusiasm is caused by the new additions to the Zoo - a pair of giraffes from Australia. "We flew them in from Australia to lure in more visitors," he said, before adding that the Zoo regularly strives to increase its' security and accessibility, so visitors could come in without having to worry about anything.
As a result of the record-breaking hordes, traffic around Ragunan was impacted. Traffic around Ragunan's North entrance was almost at a standstill along Jl. RM Harsono. "The traffic peaked at 2 pm," said the Chief of Traffic Management at Ragunan Zoo, Comr. Agus Prayetno on Friday, December 1, 2015.
At least 490 officers from the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), South Jakarta Police, and Pasar Minggu district police, have been deployed to assist with the congestion that occurred around Ragunan. Traffic jams were reported at the intersection near the Agriculture Agency, and motorists from Pejaten and Mangga Besar was diverted towards Jl. TB Simatupang to allow congestion to ease at the intersection.
ARIEF HIDAYAT
