THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The decision taken by the Kerala government to grant permission to hold Thrissur Pooram in its full glory has not gone down well with animal right activists and it is likely to meet stiff resistance as the State Animal Welfare Board is likely to approach the election commission citing violation in the model of conduct.
"This is a clear case of vote bank appeasement ahead of the elections. Thrissur Pooram is scheduled to be held by April 23 and there is no need to give permission to the festival around a month before especially when the state is fighting hard to contain the spread of Covid 19 virus. Even if they say they would control the crowd, how is it possible to hold Kudamattom ritual by adhering to the social distancing norm atop the elephant," M N Jayachandran, a member of the Animal Welfare Board told The New Indian Express
“The state government can take a decision after the April 6 elections. So this is a classic case of vote bank appeasement ahead of the elections and the State Animal Welfare Board will definitely challenge it before the election commission.”
This is not the first time the state government gave in to the pressure of Thrissurites during the time of elections.
During the 2019 parliament elections, when the district administration had banned the celebrity blind elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran from being paraded at the Pooram, the elephant owners had threatened the authorities that they would withdraw all elephants from the festival if the jumbo was not given permission. Finally, the Advocate General (AG) gave the nod to Thrissur district collector to let celebrity elephant participate in the famed Pooram, with riders.
The Thrissurites also managed to secure permission in the last minute through veiled threats and lobbying even after the Kerala Captive Elephant (Management & Maintenance), Rules was amended in 2012.
The permission was also given at the time of the Puttingal firework tragedy that killed over 100 people in the state in 2016 ahead of the assembly elections. Following this, curbs were placed for the conduct of a firework display.
When the High Court had banned the high decibel fireworks between sunset and sunrise in 2016, the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu Devaswoms, the main participants of Thrissur Pooram, had openly threatened to limit the celebrations to rituals if they had to implement the court’s order. Finally after days-long lobbying and threats, the state government had given special permission to hold the fireworks.