Vizag ZOO needs your help

-

I recently came across a news item which I have scanned and am pasting here:

Do Vizagites have our priorities right?
The news report says that Vizagites do not adopt animals, birds or reptiles at our Indira Gandhi Zoological Park. The report says that only 15 donors have come forward till date. I know that one of the 15 is myself. I made a Rs. 11,000 contribution in March 2012.

Every few days we hear of people dropping crores worth of cash and jewelry into temple hundis as if to tell God "here is a little something for you - help me to earn even more money and I will continue to give you a commission" . While they attempt to appease God, they do not bother about God's creatures.


A stanza of a poem by William Henry Monk which I read in school comes back to me:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all
It is a matter of great concern when those with means spend like crazy on throwing parties and on jewelry, clothes, gadgets and exotic holidays but do not show the social maturity to adopt an animal at our very own zoo.

The zoo needs to enhance their customer relations skills
Mr. Ramalingam, the zoo curator, has taken some excellent initiatives like banning plastic bags in the zoo premises. Unfortunately the zoo administrator's customer relations skills are quite poor. Experts who handle fund raising know that the most important thing is to build a bond with the donor. That way the donor continues to feel involved in the enterprise.

However after I paid my donation I had zero contact from the zoo. Not even a thank you email. They say that you get free admission, whereas all they grudgingly offer is a one time free admission worth perhaps hundred rupees or less.

If I were soliciting funds I would put the donor on my mail list and keep him or her informed of the developments in the zoo. I would give them a button or a badge saying "I love Vizag zoo". I would make a  club of persons who want to support the zoo, have talks on animals, small events or movies when all donors get invited. I would make a car or bike sticker that allows the vehicle to enter the zoo without payment for a specified period. There are a hundreds of things that can be done to build a buzz around supporting the zoo and our animal friends there. But alas, we are dealing with a Government organisation and good marketing would perhaps be too much to expect.

Write that cheque now
All the same guys, take out your cheque books, go over to the zoo, visit the curator's office and make that donation. Your place will be booked in heaven. God knows we will be born in another avatar in the next life and we will probably need a generous donor then.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Science of Urinals

-
Image
The science of urinals The high urinals Have you noticed how high urinals have become? Walk into a men’s restroom and look at the urinal. You will find that it is perched high on the wall, challenging your ability to deliver your stream accurately into it. I have seen it in offices, restaurants, cinema theatres, bus stands, railway stations and umpteen public places. In the old days even our airports had these high mounted urinals. Now with better standards the new airports and multiplex toilets are built to international standards and they have the urinals at the right height. I have been wondering why the urinals are built so high so I interviewed some urinal attendants, plumbers and contractors. Here is what I found Their logic goes like this...  The urinal must be high because if you delivered a stream into a low urinal it would somehow splash out of it on to your trousers and chappals. Instead if you delivered it high, it would only wet your shirt To pr
Read more

Whats your pole number?

-
Image
Whats your pole number? Do you know your pole number? You know ... that electrical pole outside your apartment or villa? If you do not know, then as a good citizen, go down and take a look. What do you see? Does it have a number on it?  I don't mean the number of the packers or movers, or the friendly local electrician. I mean the number of the pole itself as allotted by GVMC or EPDCL. Why would you need the pole number? Well, if the street light is not working in your part of town, you will have to call a GVMC  number to lodge a complaint. To do this you will first have to know the street light not working complaint number.  This telephone number is not displayed anywhere prominently for the general public to see. Going by how few people know this number I assume it is a top secret classified number . But, have no fear, I will reveal it to you. The number is   155304 . However if you call the number to lodge a complaint, they will ask you for your POLE NUMBER. You will plead
Read more

Vizag's famous and historical Kurupam Market gone for ever

-
Image
It is with great sadness that I inform you that our beloved and historic Kurupam Market gateway towers have been demolished by GVMC last week.  The market was donated by Raja Vyricherla Veerabhadra Raju of Kurupam to the then Vizagapatam Municipality on September 1, 1914, to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII. As it was Going Gone I am told that a new building is planned there. Only two weeks ago INTACH had offered to provide expertise to restore the iconic clock tower arch way but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears. It is very unfortunate that this monument was brought down without public consultation. Our uncouth city administration has driven another dagger into our city's rich heritage. No doubt a  monstrosity  will come up at the spot. It will be typical of Vizag's public buildings, no dignity, no class. No doubt that our heritage will die a little more.  One wonders who these ruthless, insensitive and heartless people are who are
Read more