KARACHI, July 13: With five children in tow, a man intently looks at a crow that gently rocks back and forth as it is perched on the sliding chairlift cable in Safari Park. Probably he envies the bird's luck in enjoying a free ride.
Four youngsters dash to the ticket counter of the chairlift outlet, ask about the fare, look at one another, shake their heads in disappointment, and walk back in silence.
A family approaches the counter and asks for two tickets.
"But you are four persons," the ticket clerk reminds the couple.
He refuses to listen to their plea that the children are small and they will be riding in the same two-person chair with them.
"Children up to three-year age only are allowed free," he remarks brusquely and asks the couple to step aside to make way for the other people queuing for tickets.
Of course, there are droves of people who do not question the high fare and enjoy chairlift rides in Safari Park.
With school vacations under way, families are thronging Safari Park to experience the new phenomenon in the city.
Tourists visiting the northern areas make it a point to ride in a chairlift. These chairlifts are so popular that they are being planned in more and more places. They are already at Ayubia, Bhurban, Murree and Malamjabba.
Such a facility nearer home is a good opportunity. But the fare is too high for a low-income family to bear. If a family, for instance, decides to visit the park from Orangi Town with five children. They will have to pay around Rs200 in taxi fare for one way, the total coming to Rs400. Then they will pay for the chairlift ride: Rs630, if the parents also decide to accompany the children. Besides, there is an entry fee of Rs5 per head. The wheeled-train and safari coaches also charge extra. And the children are certain to ask for some refreshments. Every item in the park’s limits is more expensive than it is outside.
Safari Park's chairlifts are slower and easier to climb in than those at Murree, Malamjabba, etc. The two-span, three-kilometre distance takes around 22 minutes to cover while flying at a height of 100 feet. In all, the chairs are 60. The view from the chairlift is also picturesque as there is a small artificial lake below with various species of waterfowl. There are deer, zebras and other wild animals and birds that can be seen frolicking about from the chairlift. But, again, the fare is too high. At the other end of the journey, people get off and walk about to see the animals -– the two-humped camels, neelgai, etc – living in their separate enclosures.
Soon after the launch of the chairlift, in March, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal had announced that the fare would be reduced to Rs50 per person per ride. And this would be done within a month. His directive has been disregarded by the lift operators.
"We pay them Rs525,000 in monthly rent," says an official of the chairlift firm. "This is for using their land only.
Everything else is ours. We pay the electricity bills and other expenses also." He tries to justify the fare the average Karachiite cannot afford to pay.
The city government should not turn this recreational facility into a commercial venture. There is a price for dropping visitors inside the park. Previously there was no ticket for people entering the park on foot.
"The young Mustafa Kamal is the city's father," remarked Ali Akbar, a clerk in a semi-government institution. "He should not allow these people to deprive citizens of a cheap recreational spot."
Another gentleman, who identified himself as Khalid, a computer operator in a private firm, said the nazim was helpless.
"All the matters involving money are decided somewhere else. Remember that the nazim had announced that all illegal billboards would be removed from city roads. What happened then? More and more billboards are coming up and the nazim has stopped even talking about billboards."
If the city government is unable to make the contractor firm lower its fare, it can forgo part of its own profits for the public’s benefit.
