http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=35877
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sunday, May 11, 2008 01:31 PM GMT+06:00
Monkey business!
Moinul Alam, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
I was shocked by the news on 5th May which said that the Dhaka zoo
managers were planning to purchase fifty monkeys for Tk. 5 lakh. It
meant each monkey would cost around Tk 10,000 .
When the special assistant to the chief adviser was asked, he appeared
to be uninformed and referred the matter to the curator. It sounds
funny, doesn't it? A few days back, the misery of the Hanumans of
Keshabpur Jessore was reported. It was said that because of scarcity
of food the Hanumans are at risk of extinction.
When our monkeys and Hanumans do not have food to eat and face
extinction, the purchase seems unnecessary. It was also reported that
the price of each monkey is around Tk 3,000 at the local market.
Therefore, the possibility of corruption cannot be ruled out.
Although the curator has said that the monkeys are to be bought
because of visitor's demand, the government should look into the
matter seriously. Moreover, the authorities concerned should protect
the Hanumans of Keshabpur and other areas from possible extinction.
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