Puri: Even as the High Court has suggested for deployment of machinery or elephants to pull the chariots, if at all the state government takes a decision to hold Rath Yatra this year, many in the Holy city reminisce the tragic death of an elephant brought from UP in 2002.
The novel coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown to tackle the pandemic have thrown a pall of uncertainty over the organisation of this year’s Rath Yatra.
Going down the memory lane, many locals recall a female elephant, Laxmi that had died of some injuries in her leg a few days after taking part in the Rath Yatra here in 2002.
Laxmi’s carcass had been buried at Baligoradi near Biranarasinghapur here, sources said.
According to researchers and locals, the Srimandir authorities were deploying quite a few elephants to pull the chariots during the Rath Yatra in the past.
“It was too difficult to pull the chariots on a sandy Grand Road then. The temple administration used to bring a few trained elephants to pull the chariots during the mega festival. For the last time, three elephants from Uttar Pradesh were brought to Puri for a smooth Rath Yatra in 2002,” said Kanduri Sahu of Baligoradi.
According to Sahu, Laxmi had suffered from some illness while returning to UP on the Jagannath Sadak. “The elephant lied down on the ground. Some injuries were spotted on one of Laxmi’s hind legs. The state government sent veterinarians to treat Laxmi. A few experts were also brought from Kerala to attend to the jumbo, but in vein. Laxmi succumbed to the injuries,” Sahu narrated.
Sahu claimed that the female elephant’s carcass was buried on a piece of land owned by him. A concrete structure was also built at the place to prevent dogs and jackals from digging out the carcass, he added.
Some locals, meanwhile, opined that the state government would find it difficult to bring trained elephants to pull the chariots.
“Only six days are left for this year’s Rath Yatra. The government cannot find trained elephants in Odisha. Similarly, it would be impossible to bring trained elephants from other states at short notice,” said a local.