Tusks are a matter of pride for elephants, but not for Jayarajan, a captive elephant at the Sreevallabha Temple attached to the Travancore Devaswom Board.
Jayarajan’s tusk have grown disproportionately long that he is unable to move his trunk freely posing problems for having food over the past few months.
Temple devaswom officials told The Hindu that they had apprised the matter to the Deputy Devaswom Commissioner in Pathanamthitta a month ago and sought permission to prune Jayarajan’s tusks.
The pruning of elephant tusks requires permission of the Forest Department and hence the TDB authorities in Pathanamthitta had forwarded a request to the Divisional Forest Officer in Ranni, seeking necessary clearance and support.
However, the TDB sources alleged that the DFO was yet to act on its request, leaving Jayarajan in distress.
Devotees too are upset over the indifferent attitude of the authorities.
According to them, the tusks had to be pruned before the elephant slips into musth which is likely to happen in the next two or three weeks.
Experts said pruning of the tusks would not be possible when the elephant is in musth.
The tusks have to be pruned under the supervision of officials attached to the TDB, the Forest Department and the Animal Husbandry Department.
Jayarajan’s tusks were pruned under similar circumstances in September 2015.