Day after it ran amok during Jagannath Rath Yatra procession, elephant shifted to temple's farmhouse

Indian Express

a day ago

A day after an elephant ran amok during a procession taken out to celebrate the 148th Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, the animal was relocated to the farmhouse of the Jagannath Temple Trust in Pirana on Saturday. At least two people were injured in the incident.
Dr R K Sahu, Director of Kankaria Zoo in Ahmedabad, told The Indian Express, 'While welcoming the elephants, the people started playing loud DJ music, which made the male elephant panic. Since it was a group of three elephants, the females also followed but they were calmed immediately after.'
It was due to the swift thinking and action by a joint team of the zoo authorities, forest officials, police, as well as the temple trustees and the owners of the elephant, that the situation could be brought under control, said Sahu.
The first response was to tranquilise the male elephant and shift it to a calm surrounding, Sahu said.
He said, 'As soon as the incident occurred, we rushed to tranquilise the male elephant. The three elephants were taken far from the crowd. While the females were brought back to the Jagannath temple as they were calm immediately without being tranquilised, the male elephant was taken to Gujri Bazar area of the riverfront, where it was tied down and allowed to calm down.'
Later, Vantara, led by Reliance scion Anant Ambani, helped in the relocation of the 14-year-old elephant.
'Around midnight, once the Vantara ambulance arrived, the elephant was taken to the farmhouse of the Jagannath temple in Pirana as it was considered that it would be best to shift the elephant to the farmhouse instead of taking it back to the temple,' the director said.
Sahu added that it was the Chief Conservator of Forest, Dr K Ramesh, who requested Vantara for assistance in handling the elephant.
In a statement on Saturday, Vantara said, 'Vantara deployed a specialised emergency team to Ahmedabad following an incident involving three elephants running amok during the 148th Jagannath Rath Yatra in the city.'
'The team included two wildlife veterinarians, six senior mahouts, eleven trained support staff, and five elephant ambulances equipped to provide emergency medical care and behavioural support. Vantara's team assisted the local authorities with the medical assessment of the affected bull and cow elephants, offering behavioural and psychological support, and ensuring safe containment where necessary,' said the release.
The statement also quoted Ramesh as well as Mahendra Jha, trustee members of Jagannath temple, stating that Vantara's 'immediate support' had helped in ensuring 'relocation of the elephants for better care'.
'Following the recent incident involving elephant unrest during the Rath Yatra, we reached out to Vantara for immediate support. Their team responded swiftly from Jamnagar and coordinated with local authorities and animal handlers to arrange for their relocation for better care,' stated Dr K Ramesh, Chief Conservator of Forest, Gujarat.
Sahu added that the temple trustees will decide how long they wish to keep the male elephant in the farmhouse. Sahu said, 'For the moment, the elephant is at the farmhouse. It is now for the trustees to decide if and when they wish to shift it back to the temple premises.'
'The elephant has been part of the Rath Yatra for over four years, but on this occasion, the sudden loud music led to the incident,' he added.