Mysuru: A visit to the zoo, and gazing at the birds, and the wild animals, is never an activity lacking in either fun or excitement. However, the one aspect that ends up casting a pall on an otherwise perfect experience at the Mysuru Zoo is the steep price of the food items sold at the restaurant within the premises. There have been many complaints from visitors to the zoo about the exorbitant prices charged for food. Tourism minister SR Mahesh , who visited the zoo for an inspection on Sunday, was shocked to learn the cost of dishes, and instructed officials to reduce them immediately.Considering that the zoo is spread across an area of 3sqkm, visitors are often exhausted by the time they have covered the entire area, and are invariably in need of some refreshments to revitalise themselves. The zoo receives a large number of visitors from rural areas, who can ill-afford to shell out huge sums of money for food. Imagine having to shell out Rs 40 for a single vada or Rs 60 for a plain dosa or Rs 40 for a veg puff.K Revathi, a tourist from Bengaluru, said that she was shocked to see the price of food items at the food outlets. “I came to the zoo, along with my sister and the children. I was shocked to see the prices when we went to the restaurant. It really is too much, and the government must control it. People from the poorer sections, and the middle classes cannot afford this food,” she said.Mahesh was not too happy with the state of affairs, and even went to the extent of comparing the prices of dishes at the food outlets in the zoo, with those of a restaurant opposite the same. He then asked the zoo authorities to reduce the prices. “It is really surprising to see the fares of food items. I have instructed zoo authorities to immediately reduce the fares, or tell the contractors that their contract will not be renewed,” he said, pointing out that the other alternative was to hand over the contract to Jungle Lodges.Additional principal chief conservator of forests and member secretary of the Zoo Authority of Karnataka BP Ravi said that he would bring the problem to the notice of the contractors.A meal too heavy on the pocketDishPrice (Rs)Idly (two pcs)-Vada80Vada40Plain Dosa60Masala Dosa65Chow Chow Bath100Bisibele bath75Curds rice75Masala Puri70Tea/Coffee25

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