Yatra tusker dying, temple doesn’t care

Brought all the way from Varanasi for the rituals of Lord Jagannath during the rath yatra, this elephant is now on the brink of death.It&#14...

Brought all the way from Varanasi for the rituals of Lord Jagannath during the rath yatra, this elephant is now on the brink of death.

It’s now lying along the road near Chandanpur, between Puri and Bhubaneswar. Thanks to the inhabitants of Baligoradi and other villages here the 45-year-old pachyderm is alive till now.

During the ghosha yatra of the three deities, three elephants lead the procession and the ailing one was at the very front. Though the veterinarians treating the elephant have not given up one of them said, ‘‘Its condition is serious.’’

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The animal had a sun-stroke during the rath yatra. The elephant was on its way back along with its master Sobhjit Mitra, when it collapsed near Chandanpur.

The villagers were the first to take care of it. They erected a shamiana for the massive animal, arranged food for it. The Puri Temple Administration, which had hired the elephant for Rs 3,000, has not bothered much about it.