KOCHI: A magisterial inquiry report on the BP Angadi Nercha incident in Tirur -- where an elephant ran amok, causing the death of a person and injuring around 20 people -- has revealed that the space available at the venue was insufficient to accommodate a huge gathering of people amid an elephant parade.
The report, filed before the Kerala High Court by the sub-divisional magistrate, also stated that no barricades separated the public and the elephants. The report was submitted in response to a case initiated suo motu to prevent elephant cruelty during parades.
Further, the report said that an insurance cover of Rs 1 crore, under Public Personal Accidental Care, was inadequate for an event attended by thousands of people. The permit issued by the deputy conservator of forests mentioned 10 elephants, but the details of the elephants were not specified in the order, the inquiry revealed.
“The permit does not specify a date on which the elephants are to be paraded. The permission letter should specify the starting date and an ending date to which permission is granted, but the lack of this information in the permission letter given here is a serious defect. As per the Captive Elephant Rules, the procession should be limited between 8 am to 11am and 4pm to 8pm. Violating this rule, the elephants were taken to participate in the procession till dawn, which is a serious lapse on the part of the Nercha committee,” the report said.
The report further stated that more than 320 festivals and Nerchas in Malappuram district are already registered before the district monitoring committee.
“The number of officials deputed, including a range forest officer, is insufficient to control the elephants and to perform other duties related to the events,” it said. The inquiry suggested that the number of elephants be restricted according to the space available at venues where the festivals -- Nercha and Pooram -- are held. Given the space available at the BP Angadi Nercha site, only a maximum of three elephants can be allowed in the subsequent years, according to the report.