MYSURU: To help people contribute to zoos across the state, a mobile application ‘Zoos of Karnataka’ was launched in the city on Wednesday. Forest Minister Anand Singh and scion of erstwhile Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar launched the app virtually.
The Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) launched the app after a lot of people asked how they could help in conserving zoos across the state, which have been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown as people stopped visiting them, depriving them of revenue. Zoos are finding it difficult to pay staffers their salaries and to take care of animals.
Mysuru District Minister S T Somashekar recently mobilised Rs 3.5 crore through his constituency and followers to aid Mysuru Zoo. However, there was no facility to make contributions online, so ZAK came up with the app. Singh virtually launched the app by adopting a tigress, ‘Sindhu’, of Hampi Zoo.
Meanwhile, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar appreciated ZAK’s initiative of going digital and assured authorities of any assistance in future.