Puducherry: The body of elephant Lakshmi was cremated near Puducherry Forest Office. Lakshmi the elephant came to Manakkula Vinayagar temple in Puducherry in 1996 at the age of 5. Lakshmi became the closest elephant to the local devotees. From children to adults, devotees and tourists visiting the Manakula Vinayagar Temple never leave without visiting the elephant Lakshmi.
In Tamil Nadu, a 48-day refresher camp is held annually for temple elephants. But this camp was stopped during Ekarona period. Lakshmi, the elephant of Manakkula Vinayagar Temple, also participates in this camp every year. This year, the temple administration allowed Lakshmi to rest for 15 days in the kennel in the Vedapureeswarar temple complex where it is staying as per the instructions of the forest department.
Lakshmi also gets leg ulcers due to diabetes. The elephant did not come to the Lakshmi temple during the rest period. Visitors were told not to watch. Apart from fruits to improve the physical health of the elephants, they were given kale, palm, coconut, royal tree leaves and nutritional medicines. After examination by Tamil Nadu forest department doctors, it was informed that the elephant will return to Lakshmi temple.
They were taken for a walk twice a day. In this case, we went for a walk this morning. She fainted and died near Galve College. The doctors who examined her said that she may have died due to a heart attack. This incident has caused sadness not only to the people of Puducherry but also to the devotees and tourists visiting the temple. Various parties paid tribute to the elephant Lakshmi.
Various parties including Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, political leaders, BJP members, Hindu front organizations and devotees paid tribute to Lakshmi the elephant. Following this, the veterinarians conducted a post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of death. After that, the elephant Lakshmi’s body was taken in a procession and the last rites were performed.
In this, Ministers Jayakumar, Lakshmi Narayanan and MLAs and many people participated. Bagan Shaktivel’s cry at the funeral of the elephant Lakshmi has melted many people. After the cremation, the body of the elephant was dismembered and buried with turmeric and salt.