The project includes the renovations of cages and building of two semi-intensive natural moats for lions and tigers. A proposal is underway to dredge the two lakes on 20 acres and 12 acres, brick boundary wall to protect pilferage of fish from water bodies, a training centre for university and college students of veterinary science and zoology and an employees quarters.

"The project will create an environment for recreation, education and entertainment and envisages that Dhaka Zoo will be viable with a revenue increase," said Mafizur Rahman, Dhaka Zoo curator.

The annual budget for the zoo is Tk 3.5 crore, with Tk 1.5 crore for animal food, Tk 0.75 crore for land tax and Tk 1.25 crore for salaries, wages and maintenance cost.

"The zoo has seen a revenue of Tk 2.75 crore from July last year to May this year," the curator said.

The turnover is summarised as Tk 2 crore from the entrance ticket sale, Tk 20 lakh from parking, Tk 15 lakh from zoo museum visitors, Tk 10 lakh from angling and fisheries in the lakes, Tk 8 lakh from fruits and trees, Tk 3 lakh from the toilet facilities and Tk 3 lakh from elephant and horse rides. The rest comes from the sale of deer.

"Deer outnumbered all other animals in the zoo home to 150 deer. Each deer has been priced at Tk 24,000," said Dr Selim Iqbal, veterinary surgeon of Dhaka Zoo.

The zoo is currently running at a deficit of about Tk 70 lakh a year. The authorities feel the deficit could easily be overcome if the modernisation project is approved.

The lessee fixed the price of an entrance ticket at Tk 10 to pay Dhaka Zoo the lease money. "The annual proceeds of Tk 2 crore come from the sale of about 20 lakh tickets, but the amount will increase if we can modernise the zoo and bring in more animals," Dr Iqbal said. "Even a single giraffe will attract more visitors."

"A teacher from Jahangirnagar University is doing his PhD based on Dhaka Zoo," he said.

The zoo lost its glamour when African animals like orangutan, rhinoceros and giraffe died in 1997.

"The uplift project included a provision to buy African animals in pairs to add glamour and entertainment to visitors," the curator said.

"The project will also include a children's park in a project estimated at Tk 3 crore to be built in harmony with nature," the curator said.

"Dhaka Zoo has now 15 Royal Bengal tigers, 10 hippopotamus and 150 deer that we need to shift to other places to overcome our budgetary and space constraints. We wish to exchange them with animals of other countries and save foreign currency in the process," Rahman said.

The zoo is home to about 2,172 animals of 184 species, 443 mammals, 1,275 birds and 64 reptiles.

The popular but lonely chimpanzee from Kenya, the ostrich from Australia, the surviving rhinoceros from Nepal and endangered animals like Indian lion and gharial exist in Dhaka Zoo.

"The Indian government is sending us 10 crocodiles as a companion to the 80-year-old solitary crocodile here," the curator said.

"We need also a rescue and rehabilitation centre for animals found around the country. People call us when they find animals loitering, but we cannot always accept them as we lack facilities for protection and care. Most picked-up animals have to be kept in isolation before diseases are detected," Rahman said.

About 8,000 trees have made a refuge for nature and wilderness in Dhaka Zoo, located on 186 acres in Mirpur. But the transportation facilities are poor. There is no government transport for the visitors. The curator thinks improved communication will attract more visitors.