Eight-year-old elephant Hiralal to arrive at Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai

After nearly a decade, the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai received an eight-year-old elephant named Hiralal from Assam.

HR&CE officials said that the elephant arrived at the temple premises around 9.30 p.m. on Thursday. The Department received the animal after the death of Rukmani, a 30-year-old female elephant, in March 2018 due to an injury. Rukmini was brought from Mudumalai Reserve Forest in 1995 as a seven-year-old jumbo.

“Special arrangements have been made to ensure the safety of the elephant. A veterinary team will be in place to take care of the animal,” S. Bharanidaran, Joint Commissioner (JC), HR&CE (Tiruvannamalai), said.

The elephant will be accommodated inside the temple premises, and mahouts from Assam will be assisting local mahouts in its upkeep.

Officials said the Assam government has agreed to hand over five elephants to temples in Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, the Arunachaleswarar Temple received Hiralal and will be receiving Shiva, a six-year-old elephant.

Temples in Nagapattinam and Kancheepuram will get one elephant (Rupsing and Bijuli) each. The Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai received a five-year-old female elephant, Durga, recently.

HR&CE officials said that, as per norms, work has started on the temple premises to set up a swimming pool with showers and an arena to take mud baths. Spread over 1,600 sq.ft, the pool will be at least five feet deep, with ramps for the elephant to get into the pool.

A few hundred metres away from the pool, around 100 sq.ft of open area in the temple will be converted for the animal to take a mud bath. Alongside the swimming pool, ten showers will be installed for the elephant to beat the heat. The entire work, which is funded under a CSR initiative, will cost around ₹42 lakh.

HR&CE officials said devotees will be allowed to view the elephant, and safety measures will be in place around the resting area of the animal to ensure safety of devotees.