Camp for Forest dept jumbos in their regions from this year

Inaugurating the 48-day annual camp for temple and mutt elephants at Thekkampatti in Mettupalayam, Srinivasan said the camp for Forest Department jumbos will be held at Mudumalai, Top Slip, Salem, Vandalur and Sadivayal.

Besides Srinivasan, Hindu Religious Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister Sevoor S Ramachandran and Local Administration Minister S P Velumani were also present at the camp, which is being organised at an estimated cost of Rs 1.41 crore. They fed the jumbos with fruits and sugarcane.

Of the total 28 elephants participating in the camp, 22 are from temples maintained by the HR&CE Department, four belong to mutts, while the remaining two are from Puducherry. Twenty-seven elephants have arrived, while one more from Jambukeswarar Akhilandeswari temple in Tiruchy is expected to come in a day or two.

Day one of the camp, which started with a shower bath, saw the animals perform different tasks like carrying a bucket to bath and balancing their weight.

Sporting a bob-cut hair, Sengamalam, the house elephant at Rajagopalaswami temple in Mannargudi, was the show-stopper as he played a mouth organ. Another jumbo wore a huge anklet and raised its limbs frequently as if to show off the ornament.

According to mahouts, the elephants, which met after a year, began to show signs of remembrance and bonded well.

The elephants will be given nutritious food and veterinarians have been deployed to provide medical intervention in case of any emergency.

The mahouts will also be given a refresher training programme on how to handle elephants with proper care. CCTVs, solar-fence and watch towers have been installed at the campsite, which is spread over nine acres, to keep a round-the-clock vigil.

Meanwhile, over 50 farmers who staged a protest against the camp were arrested by police. The farmers alleged that the presence of temple elephants attracts wild tuskers causing a huge loss to their crops and property.

They claimed that the wild elephant intrusions have escalated in the last few years.