Finally, Poornima finds love & home in city school

For months, she had been lying ‘orphaned’ and abandoned on the streets of Pune, starving for food and begging for mercy.
Puneites were witness to the misery of cow elephant Poornima in severe pain due to several medical complications who had been dumped into an open plot opposite Mitra Mandal Chowk.

Last week, the pachyderm’s misery came to an end when she was adopted by the director and students of Aaryan’s World School located near old Katraj ghat.

School director Milind Ladge said that Poornima’s recovery was miraculous in the natural habitat surrounding the school. “For weeks, a few good Samaritans took care of her food but the expenses totalling Rs60,000 per month were too much to bear. When I learnt about her plight, I decided to bring her to our 13-acre school campus which is surrounded by Sahyadri mountain ranges. We have ample of mud, grass and even a small lake.

Last week she couldn’t walk due to terrible wounds owing to bed sores and hernia but now her wounds have healed.”

“She requires either 160 cucumbers or bananas. So we have kept batches wherein one class of 40 students brings two cucumbers or banana to school for morning and another class for evening. This way, each student’s turn comes after 15 days. However, the students are so excited that 600 bananas are lying in the campus. The students love to play with the elephant,” said Ladge.

Besides, the school has given a job to her mahout and will pay him Rs7,000 per month to live on the premises. She added, “We have decided that once she is better, we will invite families to come and meet her and ride her for Rs50 per person. The money collected would be put into a bank account operated by the trust in her name. These would be used for her medical expenses.”