Forest Department wants Telangana temples to adopt elephants, to approach State government

Temple committees would not have to go through cumbersome process to get permissions from other States, says a Forest official

Hyderabad: Considering the demand from different temple committees and other organisations for services of an elephant for religious processions, the Forest Department is planning to approach the State government to direct popular temples here to adopt a couple of elephants.

Every year, during Bonalu festivities, Muharram and other occasions, appeals are made by several temples to the Forest Department to arrange for an elephant for conducting processions. Accordingly, elephants are arranged from different States, mostly Karnataka. The temple committees have to file applications to get the elephant’s services and get sanction from different temple committees in Karnataka. Based on their sanction, a formal application is filed with the Forest Department in Karnataka for final approval.

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In the entire exercise, the State Forest Department serves as a communication channel between the temple committees and Forest officials in Karnataka. However, the entire exercise is cumbersome for the temple committees. This apart, safe transportation of the elephant all the way from Karnataka and ensuring its well-being, arranging veterinarians and other logistics result in high expenditure as well.

Considering all these factors, the State Forest Department is now planning to approach the State government with an appeal to direct popular temples here to adopt and raise a couple of elephants. This would serve multiple benefits.

“Temple committees and other organisations seeking to utilise the services of elephants have to undergo a cumbersome process of identifying experienced elephants and get approvals from Forest departments. Further, safe transportation covering long distances and arranging veterinarians is another challenge,” a senior Forest official said.

“We are planning to approach the State government to direct popular temples like Yadadri or Vemulawada to adopt a couple of elephants,” the official added.
If any temple adopts an elephant and ensures its well-being, its services can be utilised during different processions by other temples as well. Temple committees also would not have to go through the cumbersome process to get mandatory permissions and the expenditure incurred in arranging the elephants could also be cut down considerably, the official added.