THRISSUR: With the Thrissur district collector's approval for parading elephants for temple rituals, elephant owners and mahouts are heaving a sigh of relief. With Covid-induced lockdown draining their only source of income, they have been struggling to make both ends meet for the last six months. As electric cranes completely took away the timber loading business, the industry went into a complete standstill.
As per the order issued by district collector S Shanavas following a meeting of stakeholders on Tuesday, An elephant can be brought in for rituals which are devoid of large public participation. Only 15 persons in 100 sq m are allowed inside the temple premises adhering to Covid protocols.
Mahouts from the district are overjoyed with the decision as festival season is about to begin. "By the second week of March, life came to a standstill for most of us. With no activities happening during the lockdown, we missed our earnings these days. As our families totally depend on us, it affected our children's education and other necessary expenses. We hope that the decision will be a step towards further relaxations and eventually we will be able to get back to normal life," said Manoj Ayyppan, State general secretary, Elephant Workers Union (AITUC)
Elephant owners, on the other hand, are hopeful of a turnaround from the hard days of lockdown. "We are truly happy with the decision. It was like an offseason in the past six months. We used to have numerous festivals till May-end. But Covid robbed away everything. Almost Rs 5,000 per day is required to manage an elephant. Apart from the salary, the mahouts are daily receiving Rs 375 as special allowance. Despite going through a struggling period, we haven't stopped their salary or expenses of elephants," said Sasi Kumar, secretary, Kerala elephant owners federation.
Of the total 126 elephants in the district, 16 suffering from various ailments will undergo further treatment prior to the festivals.
According to experts, the indefinite rest of these elephants has taken a toll on their health. They demand state government support for the owners to come out of the crisis.
"Almost 456 domesticated elephants are there in the state. They need to walk at least 10 km per day. Though devaswoms and owners have followed a healthy diet and exercise for elephants, they faced a severe crisis due to Covid restrictions. They were forced to spend more to look after their tuskers when revenue hit the lowest ebb in recent years. As each elephant needs around 300 kg of food and 350 litres of water per day, the government needs to ensure financial and medical support to them," said Marshal C Radhakrishnan, a researcher.