Puducherry jumbo dies on routine morning walk, thousands bid adieu

PUDUCHERRY:  A pall of gloom descended on Puducherry as Lakshmi, a 32-year-old elephant of the popular Manakula Vinayagar Temple, collapsed and died during a routine morning walk in the city on Wednesday.

Thousands, including politicians and Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, paid a tearful homage to the ‘gentle giant’ that was laid to rest after an autopsy later in the day.

While the elephant is suspected to have died of a heart attack, no official statement was issued by the government, temple management or the forest department till late in the evening.  According to sources, the elephant, which used to stay in a shed at Vedapurewswarar Temple on Mahatma Gandhi Road, didn’t come to Manakula Vinayagar Temple for the past few weeks as it was undergoing treatment for diabetes and sore feet.

On Wednesday morning, caretaker Sakthivel took her for a regular walk-on Kamatchiamman Temple Street when Lakshmi suddenly collapsed and fell on the road. Sakthivel immediately alerted the veterinary doctors who were treating her. The veterinarians who arrived at the spot declared her dead.

Meanwhile, as information about Lakshmi’s death went viral on social media, more than a few hundred people gathered at the spot. Police personnel who rushed to the spot transferred Lakshmi to a trailer truck with the help of a crane and took the body to the Manakula Vinayagar Temple. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple was shut for the today and Lakshmi’s body was kept outside the temple for people to pay homage.

Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who paid her respects, told reporters, “I don’t know how to console those who are devastated by the loss.”