Improvements at Elephant Rehabilitation Centre near Tiruchi proposed under Project Elephant

The proposed improvements, amounting to ₹4 crore, include the construction of a vet’s camp office, mini showers for elephants along the walkway and a bathing ghat

The Forest Department has identified a number of improvements to be carried out at the Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in M.R. Palayam near Tiruchi, for its upkeep and maintenance under Project Elephant for 2021-22. A proposal has been drawn up in this regard, specifying the type of work projects planned under Project Elephant at a financial outlay of ₹4 crore. 

The nearly 20-hectare rehabilitation centre for elephants, which is the first-of-its-kind facility in Tamil Nadu and is run by the Forest Department, at present, takes care of the physical and psychological requirements of eight captive pachyderms translocated from different places in the State in the last couple of years. The centre functions inside the sprawling M.R. Palayam reserve forest that has a total area of around 265 hectares, adjoining the Tiruchi-Chennai national highway.

The centre provides rehabilitation of captive elephants with space and freedom for the animals to move around without shackles in a forest-like atmosphere, besides providing the jumbos the freedom to indulge in social interaction with one other under the watchful eyes of the mahouts and a team of Forest Department officials exclusively deployed at the facility. 

An array of facilities have already been created inside, including a shower-bath arrangement for the elephants, a walking path, mud bath area, bathing ponds, shelter, drinking water ponds, a kitchen, surveillance cameras and a feed storage room among others. One of the visions of the centre, which provides personalised care for every elephant, is to provide freedom to them to play in the water and indulge in dust baths. A balanced dietary schedule is being followed for the elephants and their health condition is being constantly monitored by a Forest Veterinary Officer periodically. 

Some of the work proposed include the formation of a kraal; improvement of the elephant walkway; raising fodder plots; construction of a veterinary doctor’s camp office; construction of mini shower arrangements along the walkway; construction of a ground-level sump with a capacity of 40,000 litres; the erection of signage for existing facilities; improvements to the existing shelter, bathing ghat, purchase of farm equipment and the construction of eco huts for the mahouts. 

The first elephant translocated to the rehabilitation centre was Malachi in September 2019 from Madurai. It was subsequently followed by seven other female jumbos: Indhu, Sandhya, Jayanthi, Gomathi, Jameela, Rohini and Indira. A team of mahouts and ‘cavadis’ are taking care of the elephants at the centre. 

A senior Forest Department official said the detailed proposal for making improvements at the centre and for its upkeep and maintenance was recently sent to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Chennai for onward submission to the Project Elephant Division of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The financial outlay for the work proposed was a little over ₹4 crore, he added.