Lakshmi, the elephant of the famed Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple in Puducherry was translocated from its enclosure to the sprawling Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) campus on the outskirts of the city on Monday, in the wake of complaints over its improper care by the temple authorities.
Acting on a complaint from BJP Lok Sabha MP Maneka Gandhi to the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi alleging repeated abuse and violations of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Directorate of Forests and Wildlife ordered the translocation of the elephant.
The Department shot off a notice to the Executive Officer of the temple pointing out that it had failed to comply with the conditions of ownership under Section 42 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 under the existing set up and the animal should be translocated to the KVK campus immediately.
In the notice, issued on June 4, the Department pointed out that though complaints had been received from various quarters about the improper maintenance of the elephant, no report was furnished by the temple authorities with respect to its present condition. “The temple has also failed to furnish required records such as disease and treatment register, feeding, movement, work and vaccination register. The temple management had failed to respond to the notice and had failed to comply with the conditions of ownership under section 42 of the Wildlife Protection Act,” the notice said.
The translocation of the elephant, donated to the temple as a 10-year-old when R.V. Janakiraman was the Chief Minister of Puducherry, has now become a subject of controversy between the temple authorities and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Department of Forests.
An official of the Animal Husbandry Department on condition of anonymity said that the Department of Forests had failed to obtain the technical opinion of veterinarians before translocating the elephant. The temple authorities are entrusted with its feed and maintenance while the Department has all the details of its health condition and vaccination details. The Forest Department had failed to elicit our opinion on the elephant’s health, he said, adding that the elephant was forced to walk on hot roads covering a distance of 8 km. The mahouts alone accompanied the animal while no officials from the Forest Department were present to monitor the process, he added.
Wildlife activists pointed out that it was good that the elephant was shifted from its present enclosure to a near-natural environment. The animal has so far been considered only from the point of view of tourism as it has a star status amongst the devotees visiting the temple.
“The present enclosure in the temple was not sufficient and the concrete flooring was also hard on the animal. The elephant should be rehabilitated in a protected area only, and the mahouts should not be changed,” an activist said.
Forest Department officials said that the ‘guidelines for care and management of captive elephants’ issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change were not followed by the temple authorities. The welfare of the animal is of utmost importance and the change of place is aimed for its rejuvenation. An expert team has been constituted to look after its health, an official said.
Allegations of cruelty and poor treatment were also raised by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2014. PETA had asked the Forest Department to cancel the ownership certificate issued to the temple citing cruelty to the animal and demanded that the animal be transferred to a sanctuary.
An official of the Hindu Religious Institutions claimed that the authorities were taking utmost care in maintaining the animal and it was not subjected to any abuse. But the issue has now been reignited in the wake of the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala, he said.