TIRUPATI: The assurance made by Minister for Forests S. Vijayarama Raju during his maiden visit to Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park here, is now one year old. And it is yet to become a reality.

Not just this, what is likely to trigger discontent among the animal-keepers is the indication that the assurance is unlikely to materialise, given the many stumbling blocks in its path to realisation.

It was on August 31, 2004 that the Minister visited the zoo when he promised to regularise 18 posts of animal-keepers "very soon". The workers, who were working on contract basis for a paltry pay not enough even to make the ends meet, jumped with joy and even made the zoo elephant garland the Minister.

New posts

The file moved swiftly to the State capital and 18 unfilled posts in the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad were transferred to the Tirupati zoo as there was a ban on sanction of new posts.

Highly placed sources in the department are expressing serious doubts about the file getting cleared.

"Not even one of the animal-keepers in Tirupati zoo is fit (for regularisation) and nobody can help them," a senior IFS officer from Hyderabad told this correspondent in a telephonic interview.

Quoting the G.O. 212, which mandates completion of a minimum of five years of service as on 25.11.1993 to be considered for absorption as a regular employee, he said that all the 18 of them, picked up on seniority basis, would have to be rejected under this rule.

ARC facility

The Tirupati zoo is one of the four places in the country having an animal rescue centre (ARC), a facility to rehabilitate animals rescued from circus or individuals. Going by the official version that 500 more animals are waiting to be relocated in various ARCs, the staff requirement here is bound to shoot up further. The animal-keepers are appealing to the Minister to consider their plea. It has to be seen if the Minister takes up the case of the half-starved animal keepers to keep up his promise, at least after a year.

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