With the arrival of 26 elephants, the 12th annual rejuvenation camp for temple and mutt elephants in the State began at Thekkampatti, near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore, on Sunday.
Organised by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, the camp will house 28 elephants from across the State, two of which will arrive at the camp from Puducherry by Monday, HR&CE officials said.
K. Phanindra Reddy, HR&CE Commissioner, inaugurated the camp in the presence of K. Rajamanickam, HR&CE Joint Commissioner for Coimbatore Zone, P. Suresh, Revenue Divisional Officer, Coimbatore North and other officials from the HR&CE Department. Following the inauguration, Mr. Reddy fed the decorated elephants with fruits as they were made to stand in a row.
The estimated cost of this 48-day-long rejuvenation camp will be ₹1.5 crore, which will be borne by the State government, according to the officials. The rejuvenation camp will conclude on January 31, 2020.
M. Senthil Kumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests, said that the Forest Department will set up eight watchtowers to monitor the camp. Foresters, forest guards and anti-poaching watchers will routinely inspect the camp every day in mornings and evenings. “Vehicles, torch lights, walkie talkies and fireworks have been provided by the HR&CE Department,” Mr. Kumar said. Electric fencing works around the camp site will also be completed at the earliest, he said.
Out of the 28 elephants, 21 were from the temples in Tamil Nadu, five were from mutts and two were from the temples in Puducherry.
The camp, an initiative by former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, is being held in Thekkampatti since 2012. The first four camps in 2003, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2011-12 were held at Theppakadu in Mudumalai.
