Fadnavis heeds public demand; govt to take up cases of elephant Madhuri, Kabutarkhanas

Even in the case of Bombay High Court’s decision on pigeon feeding and order to close Kabootarkhanas, the CM said that if necessary, the state government will present its side at the Supreme Court.

Following widespread protests across Kolhapur against the rehabilitation of Madhuri — also known as Mahadevi — to the Vantara facility from the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sansthan Mutt, Fadnavis convened a meeting with ministers and stakeholders. Vantara is a state-of-the-art animal rescue centre run by Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation.

The controversy arose in July when the Bombay High Court ordered the rehabilitation of the ailing elephant, which was housed in the Jain Mutt in Nandini village in Shirol taluka, based on a petition by animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The Supreme Court had also upheld the decision of the Bombay High Court subsequently.

“Considering the traditions of Nandani Math and the sentiments of local people, efforts will be made to bring Madhuri back to Math through legal process. Madhuri has been in Nandani Math for the past 34 years, and there is a public sentiment that she should be brought back. Keeping this in mind, the state government will file a review petition. The mutt should also include the state government in its petition. Also, a separate detailed affidavit will be filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the forest department,” said Fadnavis in a statement.

Once the elephant is brought back, the state government will set up a team, including a veterinarian, to take care of the elephant and provide necessary assistance, he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the forest department should collect information about all the elephants that were taken out of Maharashtra.

Congress MLC Satej Patil said that his party stands with the local people on the issue and believes that the female elephant, who is an integral part of the mutt, should be returned.

Former Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetti said that a conspiracy was hatched to snatch the female elephant from the mutt. “A number of mutts in Maharashtra and Karnataka are getting notices to take away the elephants. This has to be stopped and probed,” said Shetti.

On July 30, when the team from Vantara came to transport Mahadevi from Shirol, there was an outpour of grief by local residents, who refused to allow the vehicle to move.

In a different case, action against Kabutarkhanas (pigeon shelters) following a Bombay High Court order is likely to get diluted with the CM talking against their immediate closure and directing the civic body to continue controlled feeding to pigeons.

On July 31, the Bombay High Court directed the closure of Kabutarkhanas citing health risks involved and based on it, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) covered the pigeon shelter in Dadar. Several Jain organisations objected to it citing their century-old tradition and were supported by minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha. In the wake of the opposition, Fadnavis called a meeting of officials on Tuesday.

At the meeting, Fadnavis directed the authorities to conduct a study on the health issues caused by Kabutarkhanas. “He also mentioned that immediate closure of Kabutarkhanas is not appropriate. Instead, there can be fixed timings for giving them food so control feeding is possible. He also directed the civic body to look for machines to clean pigeon poop, which poses a health risk,” said a government official.

“The hearing on writ petitions filed regarding Kabutarkhanas is ongoing and the state government as well as the BMC will present the side. If necessary, the state government will present its side at the Supreme Court as well,” said the CM. He also directed the BMC to set up a bird shelter.

Lodha said after the meeting that the BMC would restore the water connection and remove the cover on the Dadar Kabutarkhana.

“As far as health risks are concerned, CM Fadnavis has strictly directed that all precautions such as cleaning and restricted feeding will be taken. People’s health is of utmost importance to us,” he said.