Twenty-year-old Kothai, a female elephant, who is short chained and cramped in a small concrete shed in Adi Keshava Perumal temple in Sriperumbadur for nearly 20 hours a day is likely to develop chronic health conditions, if proper care is not taken. As per the official records, accessed by Express, Kothai was born in 1998 in Lakhimpur (Assam) and was brought to the temple in September 6, 2001.
The place not only harms the elephant, but is even dangerous for the mahout. If the animal turns aggressive, there is no space for the mahout to escape. The shed is also poorly ventilated facing west and she is exposed to the hottest part of the day.
However, the elephant, per se, looks in good shape, except for overgrown nails in fore feet and pressure ridges in hind feet. Her mahout Murugasen, who is taking care of her for the past eight years, says she is like his daughter and takes the animal for daily walks besides keeping her on a nutritious diet. He acknowledged that the shed was small.
As per Section 5 of Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2001, which deals with ‘Housing of Elephants’, a minimum floor area and height of 9m x 6m x 6m shall be ensured.
Going by this standard, Kothai’s shed is not even one-third of it. When contacted, temple authorities told Express that they will be constructing a new and modern facility for the elephant in one acre, which is about half a km from the temple. “We have a donor and the plan is also ready.
The new place has a natural pond and vegetation. We will install shower and other facilities. The work will start in two months time.”Previous Kancheepuram District Forest Officer (DFO) Bhosale Sachin Tukaram, who was recently transferred to Megamalai division in Theni, said the temple authorities were talking of the new facility since the last one year, but there was no progress.
“When last inspected, I warned them of cancelling the registration. Till a few years ago, the elephant was kept on concrete floor, but after we instructed them, the concrete floor was removed.” The present Kancheepuram DFO Naga Sathish Gidijala told Express he would follow up the issue.