Hope Botanic Gardens get upgrade too

THE EDITOR: $56 million plus for the Emperor Valley Zoo upgrades is not, in local parlance, chump change, nor is it chimp change. Certainly, when compared to adjacent edifices, the Diplomatic Centre and President's House, $56 million seems considerably elephantine to pay for a cinema, a parlour, a social area, etc.

It seems like we want to create our own version of Busch Gardens in Florida and I am really hopeful that it will benefit the nation, in terms of flora and fauna, as well as generate commercial activity.

Is there anything in the works for uplifting of the Botanic Gardens? The zoo is an excellent investment opportunity and once upgraded and recalibrated from the pathetic enclosures we have now will reap the said rewards.

It is important to also add value to the Botanic Gardens and safeguard it against the degradation taking place at the Queen's Park Savannah as sporting, Carnival and culinary activities continue to erode the sanctity of this once pristine green space.

So, while I am one of those who find the amount allocated as tall as a giraffe's neck, I am hoping it will not be another boa constrictor around the necks of the public.

LINDA CAPILDEO

St James