KOCHI: It was sheer luck that Thrissur Pooram — held with grandeur after two years — did not end in tragedy, animal rights activists believe. They have alleged that there were serious lapses and violations by the pooram organisers while parading captive elephants, which could have led to human casualties.
Elephants from eight temples were brought to Vadakkumnathan temple on two days.
Mahouts and volunteers had a tough time ensuring easy passage for the jumbos through the sea of pooram fans. “We should thank the elephants for staying calm,” said M N Jayachandran, a member of the Animal Welfare Board and the district monitoring committee for parading of captive elephants in Thrissur. He alleged the pooram organisers and police failed to control the packed crowd that stood dangerously close to the elephants. The mandatory distance between elephants was also not maintained during Kudamattom and the processions on May 11, he alleged.
As per a 2007 circular issued by the chief conservator of forest (wildlife), a minimum standing space of 4mx3m should be ensured for each elephant, while a belly-to-belly distance of 1.5m and head-to-head distance of 4m should be maintained while parading them. The circular also said human fencing should be formed around the jumbos to prevent disturbance and provocation by people.
Another circular issued by the chief wildlife warden on April 11, 2018, said a 3-m distance should be maintained between elephants and the public during the parade.“All these directives were flouted,” said Jayachandran. “Lakhs of people gathered at Thekkinkad maidan on May 10 (Tuesday). I had urged the monitoring committee to avoid parading of ‘makhna’ or tuskless male elephants. Still, an elephant with artificial tusks was paraded. It ended up attacking Vazhakulam Manoj, the mahout of tusker Annamanada Umamaheswaran, during the procession of Kanimangalam Sastha,” he said.
Manoj told TNIE that the incident occurred while the procession was leaving Vadakkumnathan temple. “There was a one-hour percussion ensemble at the west gate. Suddenly, the elephant beside mine pushed me with its tusk. I fell and fractured my hand,” he said. The Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) has lodged a complaint with the Thrissur district collector and the chief wildlife warden seeking a high-level inquiry into two incidents on pooram day.
“Around 7.30am, an elephant wearing the nameplate of Machad Dharman ran amok near Sreemoolasthanam. It was brought under control using metal hooks that are banned by the forest department. Later, another elephant with artificial tusks attacked a mahout. Both jumbos were paraded under names different from the ones in their microchips and data book,” said HATF secretary V K Venkatachalam.
Dr P S Easa, an expert in conservation of Asian elephants, said jumbos are wild animals and can get provoked if people go close to it. “The organisers are supposed to erect barricades to maintain a safe distance between the crowd and the jumbo. In the case of Thrissur Pooram, forest authorities could not enforce rules as VIPs are involved in organising the programme,” he said.
A forest officer said the instructions they had issued on parading elephants could not be enforced due to the huge crowd. “The department has only 30 officers and we had to monitor the movement of elephants of all eight temples. Though 5,000 police personnel were deployed, they too could not control the crowd,” said the officer. On setting up barricades, the officer said it was not practical as the elephants move constantly during Thrissur Pooram.
Minimum standing space of 4mx3m should be ensured for each elephant as per a 2007 circular
It also says that human fencing should be formed around jumbos to prevent disturbance