Mohatta Palace refuses to return zoo’s lion statues

The pair of bronze lion statues was gifted to the Karachi Zoo by Queen Elizabeth

KARACHI: The Mohatta Palace management has refused to hand over the pair of bronze lions to the Karachi Zoological Garden, but has offered to give new statues in their place, it emerged on Monday.

During a meeting at the zoo, Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui was informed by the advisory committee, that was tasked to bring back the statues, that several organisations had contacted the Mohatta Palace museum's management to bring back original statues which are the property of the facility. The meeting suggested that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) should play its role in bringing back the statues.

KMC roars to take back bronze lions from Mohatta Palace

"They are property of the Karachi Zoo," Siddiqui told the meeting. "The zoo is part of Karachi's history," he maintained. The commissioner has asked the management of Mohatta Palace to hand over the KMC's property immediately.

According to the KMC officials, the rare pair was gifted to the zoo by Queen Elizabeth. They said there are only two pairs of the bronze lions in the world - one of them is in Karachi and other one is in London.

Wildlife raids

Sindh Wildlife Department's (SWD) senior official, Adnan Hamid Khan, briefed the participants that his department has conducted several raids against the illegal trade of rare animals and birds in the city. The commissioner asked the SWD officials to continue the drive as it will prevent illegal trade in the city.

In Mohatta’s rooms, many a textured splendor unfurls

The commissioner was told that the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture has offered it support to beautify the facility voluntarily. The zoo officials also said that the Singapore Zoo management has accepted the offer of replacement of animals. They said that a list of such animals is being prepared.

The commissioner asked officials to contact with managements of other zoological gardens outside Pakistan to exchange different animals for Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2015.