Tusker Vettikadu Chandrasekharan dies during Chengannur temple festival; allegations against TDB

Chengannur: The elephant that was brought for the festival in the Chengannur Mahadeva temple died on Friday. The tusker who died is Vettikadu Chandrasekharan, owned by the Travancore Devaswom Board.

The elephant which was brought into the Vettikadu Devaswom (under Travancore Devaswom Board) in 1988, is 63 years old. 

The death happened around 4:15 pm. The tusker had been experiencing difficulty in getting up since 6 am. Due to this, the elephant did not participate in the festival. The locals and veterinary experts administered water and 40 bottles of glucose. The elephant was maintained wet. Following this, veterinary experts came and tried to help the elephant up with a rope. 

When all attempts failed to make the tusker arise, a crane was brought but the tusker could not stand. The legs were shivering and the animal sat with his knees bent. Later, its death was confirmed.

Meanwhile, jumbo fans and a section of locals blamed TDB for the elephant's death. According to them, authorities denied rest and proper medication to the tusker. It has been alleged that the pachyderm was ill-treated and taken to various temple festivals despite its poor health conditions.