The eight elephants participating in the coming Dasara festival in Mysuru will receive insurance.
Providing risk coverage to the elephants as well as the mahouts and kavadis participating in the festival has been a routine precautionary measure and the authorities have decided to continue with the practice.
While the five male elephants including the howdah elephant Abhimanyu, Ashwathama, Gopalaswamy, Vikrama and Dhananjaya have been insured for ₹3.5 lakh each, the three female elephants – Cauvery, Lakshmi and Chaitra – have been insured for ₹2.5 lakh each.
While the Dasara elephants have been insured for a total of ₹25 lakh, the 16 mahouts and kavadis have been insured for a sum of ₹1 lakh each.
A separate insurance cover for ₹30 lakh is provided for the safety of public property.
On September 13, the elephants had begun the traditional Gajapayana, or their journey from Veeranahosahalli near Nagarhole forests, and reached Aranya Bhavan in Mysuru, where they are presently camping.
The elephants will be accorded a traditional welcome at the palace on September 16. They will enter the palace through the Jayamarthanda Gate on Thursday morning. The elephants are scheduled to stay at temporary sheds on the premises along with their mahouts and caretakers till the conclusion of the Dasara festival.
The festival’s inaugural ceremony is atop Chamundi Hills on October 7 while the Jamboo Savari, which will be restricted to the palace premises this year too, will be held on October 15.
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