Thrissur: Apart from the ban on star elephant Thechikkotukavu Ramachandran, the elephants which are in musth, unhealthy and the ones which are very sensitive to sounds and could create safety issues for public will also be banned from taking part in Thrissur Pooram, Collector T.V. Anupama has said.
She told reporters here on Thursday that veterinary doctors will inspect the elephants starting from May 11 for the pooram to be held on May 13.
“The ban on captive elephants in musth from the pooram site is a usual practice. I am not in a position to talk on the ongoing ban on Thechikkotukavu as the High Court will be taking up the matter on Friday (on the plea filed by Thechikkotukavu Devaswom seeking to lift the ban on elephant),” Ms Anupama said.
The ban on the Ramachandran is put in place by the District Captive Elephant Monitoring after the elephant had killed two men at a private festival held in Kottappadi near Guruvayur in February this year.
Committee members who support the ban are of the opinion that they are acting in according to the Supreme Court rulings on parading captive elephants.
The elephant has killed as many as 13 persons including a school student, women and mahouts since 1986 and has also gored to death three elephants at festival sites after running amok.
The elephant has lost vision in one of its eyes and that of the other is also fading.
BJP alleges Conspiracy
BJP state general secretary K Surendran said in Thrissur on Thursday that there was a conspiracy behind banning Ramachandran which has been the star attraction of pooram and pulls open heavy doors of the Southern Entrance Tower of Vadakkumnathan Temple on the eve of Thrissur Pooram.
“For the past five years Ramachandran has been opening the door and the event has been attracting several hundreds of people just because of this elephant. There is a deliberate attempt take the sheen off the event by banning the star elephant. It is said that the elephant has killed several persons, but this is a country in which a person who is accused in 12 murder cases is contesting parliament elections,” Mr Surendran said.
