Monkey business!
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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