PATNA: The Patna zoo , or Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, is working on a proposal to offer cycling facility and launch tour guide services on its premises.To groom volunteers as tour guides, a programme has been launched to educate them about the basics of biodiversity, animal species and their upkeep. The training programme started last Saturday and will continue till September end.Zoo director Amit Kumar said on Tuesday the trainees were being briefed about 300 species of trees, plants, herbs and shurbs, conservation of wildlife , 35 species of fish, nocturnal house species and the diet of animals, among other things.The volunteers are being imparted training by World Wildlife Funds experts, including Kamlesh Maurya, Mudit Gupta, Fazul Rahman and Sariq Safi. “To begin with, the volunteers will be assigned the task to conduct tours of schoolchildren during the wildlife week celebrations from October 2 to 8 on the zoo premises,” Kumar said.“Depending on their performance during the wildlife week celebrations, the volunteers will be further trained by ten trainers hired by the zoo,” the zoo director said and added most of the trainees were postgraduate in biochemistry, biosciences and biotechnology The zoo will also organize an event on September 12 to reach out to schoolteachers, students and principals. “We will take their suggestions for further development of the zoo,” the zoo director said.Earlier, the zoo administration had submitted a proposal to the state government, seeking its nod to launch tour guide services and cycling facility. “We propose procuring 38 bicycles..., but the launch of the cycling facility will take some time as the roads on the zoo premises are narrow,” said Kumar.

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