COIMBATORE: Moved by the death of three elephants, which were knocked down by a train, at Navakkarai in Madukkarai on November 26, an animal lover organised a homam in their memory on Tuesday.
Vikas Munot (28), a native of Rajasthan who runs a two-wheeler spare parts shop at Ramnagar, said he was disturbed by the incident and arranged the homam to invoke divine blessings so that such incidents do not recur. He placed photographs of the elephants that died on the tracks and offered prayers at a temple near the Nehru stadium in the district.
“Not just me, everyone was saddened by the news. I feel the loss of an elephant is similar to the loss of a family member. Elephants play a key role in maintaining bio-diversity. To stop such incidents, Railways should operate trains at 30 kmph in Madukkarai forest range,” he said.
Vikas had organised a similar homam in 2016 after eight elephants died of health issues across the seven forest ranges in Coimbatore. Meanwhile, a herd of six elephants entered a residential area at Yamuna Nagar in Kanuvai road on Monday night. Locals captured the video and circulated it on social media.