Mysuru Zoo gets additional Rs 1.05 cr donation

District In-charge Minister S T Somashekar raised an additional Rs 1.05 crore for the Mysuru Zoo. With this, the zoo has received Rs 2.32 crore from the minister in three phases.

The minister handed over a cheque for Rs 21.14 lakh to Zoo Director Ajit Kulkarni. In addition, following the request from Somashekar, Urban Development Minister B A Basavaraj donated Rs 84 lakh.

Earlier, Somashekar had raised Rs 45.30 lakh and Rs 73.60 lakh for the zoo. The minister had promised of raising funds for the zoo, as there is no revenue due to lockdown.

Somashekar appreciated Basavaraju for his support to the zoo and said Basavaraj raised the funds from his supporters and it shows his concern for the zoo.

Somashekar said that he has urged the Association of Kannada Kootas of America (Akka) president Amarnath to support the zoo. The president has responded positively, he said.

Basavaraj said, "Somashekar had urged him to support the Zzo. BJP leaders and my supporter raised funds for the zoo."

Food and Civil Supplies Minister K Gopalaiah, who visited the zoo with Somashekar donated Rs 8 lakh and also distributed 25 kg of rice each to 300 employees of the zoo, recently.

According to Zoo Director Kulkarni, the zoo is a self-sustained organisation as it is not receiving any funds from the state government since 2002. This time, the zoo needs financial support from the government, as there is no income. The funds from selling tickets and funds from the animal adoption scheme are the major sources of income for the zoo, he said.

The zoo has 152 species of birds and houses more than 1,450 specimens belonging to 168 species, representing more than 30 countries.

The director said, "The people can adopt animals under the adoption scheme, online. All details are available on the zoo website. The people can pay the charges online."