WALKING into the Karachi zoo was like taking a stroll through my memory lane.

When I was a child, we would come to the zoo and see lush green gardens. Everything was clean and the animals were in good health.

However, I went to the zoo with my children recently and it was disappointing.

The glory of the zoo has been diminishing owing to a lack of maintenance on the part of the authorities concerned. The great elephant ride — one of my favourite memories of the zoo was not there anymore as it was discontinued. The zoo appeared to be more of a desert than a lush green habitat for the animals.

Elephants were roaming in a barren and dusty cage. There was so much distance between the visitors and animal enclosures that it was hard for kids to spot the animals.

It is sad to see that in a cosmopolitan city like Karachi we lack recreational places for children.

The turtles did not have a pond whereas the pond for the ducks was so dirty that white ducks came out green after a swim. Usually the animals need a wash and overall the animal cages lacked cleanliness.

Karachi zoo is an affordable recreational activity for young and old people. Many of us cannot afford privately maintained facilities. Being under the jurisdiction of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the officials concerned should be held accountable for the maintenance and renovation of the zoo.

I request the authorities and the zoo management to look in to the matter and do something for the uplift and management of the oldest zoo of the city.

Zobia Zaman Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2019