In what would be a major relief for elephants being paraded for the Thrissur Pooram, the organisers of the festival have initiated steps to construct a platform at the Thekke Gopura Nada.
It is at the Thekke Gopura Nada that the elephants of the Thiruvambadi Devaswom will be made to stand for almost two hours for the kudamattom ceremony during Pooram.
Every year, elephants of the Thiruvambadi Devaswom are forced to stand on a slope with a slant of nearly 40 degrees during the kudamattom ceremony.
Elephant lovers have long been protesting against the practice.
Work on constructing an even surface for the Pooram has begun.
Temporary platform
The temporary platform will be made of clay and brick. The platform would be removed after the Pooram celebrations to preserve the original form and traditional beauty of the Thekke Gopura Nada, the organisers said.
According to Thiruvambadi Devaswom president M. Madhavan Kutty, the objective of such a platform was to ensure the comfort of the animals during festivities.
Health problems
Animal rights activists had pointed out that elephants would develop health problems if they were made to stand on a slope for more than two hours during kudamattom . The animals would not be able to urinate or defecate. Moreover, three persons with decorated umbrellas, venchmaram and alavattom would stand on the elephant’s back for two hours.
The elephants of the Paramekkavu Devaswom are paraded on the even ground. According to the activists, the practice of parading of elephants of the Thiruvambadi Devaswom on the slope at the Thekke Gopura Nada began only during the 1980s.
