CHENNAI: The state forest department on Monday told the Madras High Court that expert opinion has been sought on Sriperumbudur temple elephant, which is forced to live with legs chained in a cramped concrete shed for past 20 years.
The department has roped in Ajay Desai, former co-chair of Asian elephants specialist group of International Union for Conservation of Nature and consultant to World Wide Fund for Nature-India, to inspect the elephant and file a report within two weeks.
The 22-year-old female elephant Kothai belonging to Adi Keshava Perumal temple has been languishing in deplorable living conditions for almost two decades, but after Express reported it the forest department had issued showcause notice to the temple.
The temple has readied a new home for the elephant with a small pond and space to move around, which has been confirmed by Sriperumbudur Forest Range Officer Selva Kumar to Express. Temple authorities are yet to shift the elephant to new facility.