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Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took this decision after a meeting with senior police officers
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took this decision after a meeting with senior police officers
GUWAHATI
The Assam government has decided to send a four-member team to Tamil Nadu on Friday to look into the condition of Joymala, an adult female elephant who was allegedly tortured in a temple in the southern state.
The decision was taken after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with the top officials of the Forest Department on Thursday evening.
Additional Director General Conservator of Forests Hirdesh Mishra has been appointed as the leader of the team that will visit Tamil Nadu, an official statement said.
Other members of the team are Kushan Kumar Sarma of the College of Animal Science under Assam Agricultural University, Aparna Natarajan, Superintendent of Police Morigaon and Rupjyoti Kakoti, Animal Husbandry and Animal Husbandry Officer of Tinsukia district.
The team will discuss the matter with representatives of the Tamil Nadu government and the Forest Department there to pave the way for Joymala’s return to Assam.
Joymala was hired from the temple in 2008, reportedly for six months, by a person from eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district. The Tamil Nadu government manages the temple trust.
The alleged misbehavior of the elephants has sparked an outcry from wildlife activists and animal lovers in Assam.
There are several cases of domestic elephants being leased or transferred by animal owners to temples in southern and western India. But these are not returned.
Assam environmental activist Rohit Choudhury in February 2020 complained to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change against the illegal transport and smuggling of wild and domesticated elephants from Assam to other states “with involved in the office of Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam”.
He also said that the Assam Forest Department has refused to give information about the number of permits issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden for the transfer of elephants to other states.
“The fact is that the Chief of the Wildlife Guard, who is the guardian of the wildlife of the State, does not have any information on how many elephants have been transferred from the State or returned to the State, and there is no way to systematically record it. The elephant in captivity/house speaks volumes about the relationship between the elephant smuggling organization and the State forest officials,” he wrote.
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