July 14, 2008	Monday	Rajab 10, 1429

BAHAWALPUR, July 13: The city’s zoological garden, which was once known as the ‘Sher Bagh’, has become a picture of neglect owing to a lack of investment and improper upkeep of the animals.

It is learnt that the entire budget of Rs4.5 million for 2007-08 had exhausted, leaving the public recreational facility wanting in many ways. Worse still, the contractors who feed the animals have threatened to stop food supply to the animals for “non-payment of their bills”.

Haji Yaseen, Muhammad Niaz and other contractors told Dawn that the zoo management had failed to pay their bills amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees as a result of which they were facing financial hardships. “If payments are not made to them during the current month, they will stop supplying food to the zoo.”

Non-payment of their bills for the previous months, they said, was breach of the contract which would force them to suspend the supply of beef and other stuff for the animals.

Sources told this correspondent that the zoo management had parked its vehicles as fuel stations had declined to supply them petrol and diesel for non-payment of dues. Shortage of diesel is threatening for the zoo aquarium also which can’t run its generators.

Zoo Curator Salim Langah declined to comment on the present state of affairs, but said “it is up to the higher authorities to take notice of the complaints of the contractors whose payment have been withheld”. He said the Punjab government should enhance the annual budget of the zoo.

The Sher Bagh is fast losing its lions, once a main attraction for the children. According to a management source, during the previous years 30 grown-up lions were sold to other zoos and circus and it fetched hundreds of thousands of rupees to the zoo. “The authorities got the money without realising that there is no more young couple in the zoo for breeding.”

At present, the zoo has only one lion (an old one) and seven young lionesses.

The curator said there is right now no move to purchase lions for the zoo. It is also without an elephant for the last six years and most of the visiting children complain that they miss elephant ride. It was in 2002 when zoo’s elephant, Akbar by name, died. He is buried on the zoo premises where its ‘burying period’ has been completed.

The National History Museum, Islamabad, is learnt to have demanded Akbar’s skeleton for stuffing it and displaying it for exhibition in the capital.

Mr Langah said last year, the management had paid Rs6.3 million to a Lahore-based firm to provide an elephant which was to be procured by Sweden. The company couldn’t, however, obtain the NOC and failed to import the elephant. “The firm’s bank draft was cancelled and, thus, the amount lapsed,” he claimed.

He said efforts were being made to import an elephant. The authorities concerned should take notice of the firm’s failure to import elephant and impose penalty on it for failing to comply with the tenders.