CHENNAI: Following a decade-long legal battle with the State Forest Department, the renowned Sri Sankara Mutt in Kancheepuram welcomed back three elephants, Indu, Sandhiya, and Jayanthi on Monday evening. The elephants returned after an 11-year absence, culminating a prolonged legal battle with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.
After the Madras High Court directive, the elephants were sent to the Forest Department's elephant camp at MR Palayam in Tiruchy in 2015. The Mutt had been engaged in a lengthy legal struggle to reclaim the animals.
The turning point came on January 7, when the High Court issued a fresh order permitting the transfer of the three jumbos to the Mutt's newly established gajashala (elephant shelter) in Konerikuppam village, near Kancheepuram. The order came with specific conditions, including allowing the Mutt to conduct gaja puja (elephant worship) and spiritual ceremonies at the new shelter. It also stipulated that the elephants could be taken out for processions only after they were declared fully healthy.
The court mandated that the elephants' original mahouts would stay at the shelter to help the animals acclimatise to their new environment.
Following this order, Forest Department officials formally handed over the elephants to the Mutt authorities at the Konerikuppam gajashala on Monday.
The Mutt welcomed them with special pujas and rituals.
Post the handover, the elephants underwent immediate veterinary examinations. A committee headed by the Forest Department, with officials from the Animal Husbandry and Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments departments, has been instructed to conduct monthly check-ups. A team of senior veterinary doctors will examine the elephants once every three months.
For the next ten days, the elephants will remain under the joint supervision of Forest Department officials and the mahouts to monitor their adjustment to the new surroundings. During this period, public visits to the shelter will not be permitted.