Bengaluru: Wonderla shuts down after license expiry

Bengaluru: Wonderla Holidays Limited has been ordered to close its Bengaluru amusement park after local authorities pointed out they can’t operate the park till the license is formally approved, as a result, hundreds of visitors were denied entry into the park.

Issuing a clarification with this regard the management said that the license expired in September 2020 and that they had applied for renewal three months prior to the expiration i.e in June, but the authorities didn’t respond to the renewal application.

The management further informed that as per current laws, if the licensing authority does not dispose of the application within the time specified (one month) then the license shall be deemed to have been granted to the applicant.

Adhering to this law and considering that competent authorities did not raise any objections to the license renewal application, Wonderla reopened its park in Bengaluru on November 13, 2020, for the general public and also accepted online bookings despite the license expiration.

Consequently, on December 13, hundreds of people from Bengaluru and other places booked online tickets and appeared at the park. But the Ramanagara district administration was adamant about not letting the amusement resume the activities until the license is renewed.

Finding the amusement park closed on their arrival, the irked visitors demanded an immediate refund and explanation from the management for not informing them about the closure. After things started heating up the management asked a week’s time to refund.

After learning about the incident, Superintendent of Police, Ramanagara, S Girish, who rushed to the spot to control the situation said that the police security had been provided at Wonderla to maintain law and order.

He further added that they had instructed the management not to take any fresh bookings till the license renewal.

It may be recalled that the company had offered the frontline Covid-19 warriors and their families a complete Wonderla experience, free of cost from November 9 to 12, 2020. 12,000 warriors & their family members were invited to the park. These included doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, police, media, and other government staff.