Mysuru/ Hassan: Retired forest officer T Balachandra on Wednesday highlighted the role of mahouts, kavadis, and veterinarians in capturing and taming wild elephants.
He was speaking at an event organised by the Mysuru Cultural Association (MCA), to commemorate the howdah elephant Arjuna, who died during an operation in Yeslur forest, Hassan district, on December 4 last year.
Balachandra said the forest department will collect details of all tamed elephants, including Dasara jumbos, before involving them in elephant-capturing operations.
Veterinarians Dr DN Nagaraju, who took care of Dasara elephants for over 20 years, and Arjuna's mahout Sannappa were felicitated on the occasion.
Dr Nagaraju recalled Arjuna's contributions in protecting the lives of various department personnel during the forest combing operations. Arjuna, who was wild in his initial years of taming, later became mild because of the training by Doddamasthi, his mahout, the vet recalled.
Mysuru City Kannada Sahitya Parishat president KS Shivaramu and MCA president AP Nagesh were present.
Memorial remains elusive
Even after a year, the memorial for Arjuna is yet to become a reality. As per plan, it was supposed to be inaugurated on Wednesday. However, the authorities have done only the foundation work for the memorial.
Following the death, forest minister Eshwar Khandre announced the construction of a memorial and a statue. The minister had also promised development of the area so it can be a tourist spot.
He had laid the foundation stone for the memorial in July.