GODAWARI, LALITPUR: The National Botanical Garden at Godawari in Lalitpur district has recorded a rise in the number of visitors in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Garden, formerly known as Royal Botanical Garden, had almost worn deserted look during the pandemic, resulting in dismal collection of revenue from ticket sales.
The 82-hectare big Garden, a home to 1,088 species of plants (flowering and non-flowering), 25 species of mammals, 290 species of birds and 250 species of butterfly, is thriving with the influx of the visitors, both domestic and external lately.
According to Gaurav Paramar, information officer of the Garden, altogether 328,960 domestic visitors and 1,821 external ones (including from the SAARC countries) visited the Garden since mid-April last year to mid-March this year.
Among the domestic visitors, over 400,000 were students, divulged Paramar.
The 60-year-old Garden fetched over Rs 17.9 million in revenue from ticket sales during this period, informed Paramar.
According to him, the revenue collection from ticket sales was recorded altogether Rs 7.8 million during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. “The income is better this year,” said Paramar.
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