Bal Bhavan to provide a healthy food menu to visitors, revamp ticketing system for toy train to control crowd

With a view to providing healthy food options to children and adults visiting Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park, the Bal Bhavan Society, along with the Department of Tourism, will begin the upgradation of the existing hotel on the campus this week.

B.R. Naidu, Chairman, Bal Bhavan Society, said, “There is a Mayura Hotel that is run by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), but there are only three food items on the menu, including gobi manchuri, parotta and noodles. All these items include maida and are not considered healthy for children and adults. In the new hotel that will be upgraded by the Tourism Department, we want to provide healthy food options that are served directly from farmers to consumers.”

Mr. Naidu added, “Around ₹2 crore will be spent on the upgradation of the hotel and kitchen. Presently, there are many processed food items sold within the campus. We will stop the sale of processed foods. Fresh fruits, juices, millet-based food items and others will be available on the menu.”

Batch-wise tickets

Bal Bhavan is also planning to issue tickets batch-wise for the toy train ride, also known as Putani Railu, which is the main attraction at Bal Bhavan. “The demand for the toy train is high on weekends and government holidays. Thousands of parents bring their children to Cubbon Park mainly for this ride. They keep waiting in queues just to enjoy the ride, and it can accommodate only 60 members. Hence, we have decided to issue tickets once every 15 minutes so that each batch gets to take a ride and there are no fights for it. This ticketing system will also be introduced soon,” Mr. Naidu said.

At present, the entry fee is ₹50 for adults and ₹20 for children. For the train ride, it is ₹50 for adults and ₹20 for children, and the ticket for the boat ride is also the same. Visitors need to buy tickets for these separately. Bal Bhavan has also recently added several other activities like the dragon train and columbus. “We have added these amusements because most children and parents would just wait for the toy train for long hours. Now, they can opt for these amusements instead of waiting to take a ride on the train,” he said.