COIMBATORE: The State government has initiated steps to revive the annual elephant rejuvenation camp at Thekkampatti on the banks of Bhavani River near Mettupalayam.
As part of the preliminary process, a team of officials led by B Ramesh, Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, Coimbatore, on Monday, inspected the proposed camp site and reviewed the infrastructure required for conducting the camp.
Facilities such as bathing platforms, shower bath arrangements, walking tracks for elephants, kitchens and dining halls, accommodation for mahouts, office space, fodder storage areas, surveillance towers and solar-powered fencing designed to prevent wild elephants from entering the camp premises are likely to be developed at the camp venue.
Sources in the department said that a detailed inspection report would be submitted to the HR&CE Commissioner for further action. Following government approval, the elephant rejuvenation camp is expected to be organised at Thekkampatti.
The elephant rejuvenation camp, regarded as one of the flagship welfare initiatives introduced during the tenure of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, was first launched in 2003 at Theppakadu in the Nilgiris district. The annual camp was conceived to provide rest, healthcare and rejuvenation for elephants belonging to temples and mutts across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
However, logistical challenges associated with transporting elephants through the steep and winding ghat roads of the Nilgiris prompted authorities to shift the camp to Thekkampatti in 2012. The Bhavani riverbed location subsequently became the regular venue for the programme.
The camp was not conducted during the previous DMK government. Instead, arrangements were made to provide temple elephants with the necessary veterinary care, nutrition and other welfare measures at their respective temples.