Owners too have jumbo problems

Ali’s elephant has been sent to Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand after it was taken away from him. “I have all the papers,but my brother could not find and produce the documents when the wildlife people came to our house,” he said.

Syed Khan said: “Nearly 20 years ago when I was a child,there were 30 elephants in our stable. Today,my extended family owns 11. We don’t have the resources to replace the ones that we lose. We can’t afford to shell out Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for an elephant.”

“Elephants are our livelihood. Why wouldn’t we take care of them when we depend on them?” the owner and part-time mahout said,while scrubbing Moti,a 45-year-old female,on the Yamuna bank near ITO.

Khan’s uncle and a cousin owned Roopkali (45),who died in the Noida accident,and Chanchal (30),the injured elephant currently recuperating at a rehabilitation centre in Mathura.

“My uncle is in a state of shock. He lost a son in an accident a week before his elephant died,” he said.

Following the accident,Khan’s two relatives were arrested for not possessing a transport permit. “The elephants were to travel between Dadri and their home in Wazirabad,which isn’t much of a distance. So the permit was not taken,” he said.

“When there is shortage of food in Delhi,we have to take them to Haryana and UP. But we need papers to move around within the National Capital Region (NCR). Getting permits and NOCs take time. We can’t let our elephants starve till we get the permits,” Rafiq Ahmed of Lakshmi Nagar said. He owns four elephants — Ganga Ram,Bhola Ram,Lakshmi and Kanchan.

The city’s captive elephants are mostly used for religious and social functions. “The elephant represents Lord Ganesha. And then there are weddings and birthday celebrations,” Babu,the mahout of Gangaram grazing on the Yamuna bank near ITO,said.

“Foreign tourists also come to the riverside for elephant rides. We charge them about Rs 500. That’s pocket money for the mahouts. But the money from functions go to the owners,” Babu said.

Rates can vary from Rs 5,000 a day during the lean season to Rs 15,000 in November and December — the wedding season.