Temple to parade elephants illegally in Kayamkulam

ALAPPUZHA: A temple near Kayamkulam has planned to parade five captive elephants for a ceremony on Saturday violating the norms stipulated by the district administration. The illegal elephant show will be held at the  Cherumannil Mahavishnu temple at Kattachira   run by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) as part of the inauguration of the renovated Chuttambalam (circumambulatory temple). A  flex board has been  erected on the walkway of NH 66 at Mukkada junction near Kayamkulam  with the names of the pachyderms  and the persons who sponsored the programme.

The elephants are Kannamath Unnikrishnan, Vallamkulam Narayanankutty, Panayannarkavu Kalidasan,Vazhuvadi Sreekantan and Vazhuvadi Kasinathan. The punch word on the multi-coloured board says  ‘Gajaveeranmaar ezhunnallunnu’.      The organisers have not got the official approval of either the district collector or the assistant conservator of forests  to conduct the event. The ceremony will be inaugurated by Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan at 10 a.m.

District collector  Veena N. Madhavan told DC that none had sought the approval from her office for  the programme. This violation comes a day after the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had advised the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to issue a central notification under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 to ban the training, exhibition and use of elephants for performances in India.