Kerala’s festive fascination with caparisoned elephants got a tragic reminder on Wednesday when a tusker gored to death three persons
THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Kerala’s festive fascination with caparisoned elephants got a tragic reminder on Wednesday when a tusker gored to death three persons during an annual temple festival near Thrissur.
The beast went on a rampage for close to two hours, terrorising the area. The extent of the tragedy was lessened by the temple authorities who created bonfires at the temple entrance to block the elephant.
Unni Krishnan, one of the 15 tuskers lined up at the famed Koodalmanikyam Temple, ran rampage, chasing whoever came his way. As soon as the ritualistic line-up was over around noon, the elephant got irritated and gored Noushad, an onlooker who apparently tried to touch his tusk. His second prey was Kousalya, a 70-year-old woman who had come to attend the festival. Next to lose his life to the elephant’s fury was Nithish Neelakandan, who was helping to rein in the animal.
Unni Krishnan had created also a ruckus at the same temple in Irinjalakkuda last year. At least four persons were grievously hurt in the melee. Chief wildlife warden VS Varughese, in charge of captive elephants in the state, has ordered a probe into
the matter.
Temple authorities insisted that they had complied with all the norms related to the exhibition of captive elephants. The high court had earlier banned the parading of elephants between 11am and 3 pm, but relented later following petitions from temple managements. The court had laid down strict guidelines for parading elephants during temple festivals, including Thrissur Pooram last week.
The temple festivals are increasingly becoming danger-prone in Kerala, which successfully sells the spectacle of a row of caparisoned elephants shouldering men with parasoles and other paraphernalia. About a dozen men, including mahouts and spectators, are killed by elephants in Kerala every season.
Experts believe that the main reason for a jumbo’s deviant behaviour is its caretaker’s laxity. “We have clear rules to be followed while dealing with captive elephants. Unfortunately no one in the field is taking them seriously,” KC Panicker, Elephant Lovers’ Association secretary, said.
Experts want the state government to implement the Kerala Captive Elephants (Maintenance and Management) Rules 2003 strictly. “Every problem area is covered by the law. But most people don’t even give enough rest to the elephants,” Panicker said.
Elephants are known to be unpredictable and aggressive when they are in musth. The animals are tethered with iron chains during that time and a special diet is necessary to cool them off. Problems start when their owners decide to employ them due to high demand.
Many times even when the elephants may have traces of musth, they are lined up amid a multitude of revellers. Unni Krishnan, owned by a timber company in Kottayam, had always shown traces of aggressiveness on temple grounds.
s_don@dnaindia.net
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