By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The People for Animal has opposed use Elephants’ in Lord Jagannath’s Chariots Pulling during Rath Yatra. Jiban Ballav Das, State Secretary, PFA, on Tuesday said the incidence of 2002 should not repeat again if Government will decide to use Elephant to pull Chariots in coming Ratha Jatra as Odisha High Court given the two alternatives Machine or Elephant.
Laxmi ,an Elephant brought to be used in Car festival in 2002 died of pneumonia some kilometre away from Puri while returning after Ratha Jatra. The painful death of Laxmi was a heart touching incidence and died lack of proper care and treatment. The present state of COVID19 when allowing people to congregate other places for their necessities why not to pull Chariot following the COVID19 norms if it a necessity. But Government. should not involve Elephant to pull the Chariots, PFA State Secretary said.
The Elephant being the largest surface animal dragged from wild and put in captive where lifestyle is very painful. Several Captive Elephants have been found to be Malnourished and dehydrated beaten with metal prods and forced to work even when they are health conditions does not permits. Captive Elephants are often kept standing for hours, chained or shackled with even spikes embedded in their ankles.
There is saying that Elephant don’t forget because the Elephant Temporal Lobe is larger and denser than that of human. They are very intelligent, emotional for which they never forget the torture of Mahut or trainer in Captivity. These things reflects several times while Elephant in crowd become Wild hearing sound of crackers, gongs, cymbals etc. killed many humans and situation reached to the extent to shoot the Elephant to save humans. So we are responsible for all these putting Elephant from Wild to Captivity for our necessity and create a state of Man-animal conflict, Das said.
As a schedule –I Animal under Wildlife Protection Act Elephant should not be in Captive unless require in special circumstances with permission from Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. Use of Protected Animals any manner also prohibited under Wildlife Protection Act 1972. No person having in his possession captive animal, in respect of which he has a certificate of ownership, shall transfer by way of sale or offer to sale or any commercial use. On the other hand transporting of heavy Animal like Elephant from place to place would subject the animals to extreme stress, pain and cruel which cause chances of death also. Earlier many such incidences like death of Animal happened while transporting from place to place by different means.Animal Lovers of Odisha urge Government not to use Elephant to pull Chariot in coming Ratha Jatra putting life of both Animal and man in danger when alternatives can make the Ratha Jatra successful, he said.
Heavy-duty machinery or any other means like elephants may be consider in pulling the Lord Jagannath Chariots during Ratha Yatra in Puri, the Odisha High Court had directed the State Government acting on advocate Dillip Kumar Ray’s PIL that had sought intervention for use of machinery for pulling the chariots of the Holy Trinity in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ratha Yatra is scheduled to be held on June 23.
Premananda Das Mohapatra , a leader of Daitapati Servitors’ Body while reacting to HC notice said elephants in pulling the chariots during Ratha Yatra in Puri may be good steps but deploying heavy-duty machinery will set a bad impression. “It was better, Servitors and security men shall deploy in pulling the chariots during Ratha Yatra,” Das Mohapatra said.
