Summary:
SV Krishna Chaitanya ByExpress News ServiceCHENNAI: After spending 18 years chained in a cramped concrete shed, Kothai, the female elephant at the famous Adi Keshava Perumal temple in Sriperumbadur, will be rehabilitated in a new home in the next couple of months. In response, the forest department issued a notice to the temple authorities to comply with the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2001. As per the official records, the elephant was born in 1998 in Lakimpur in Assam and was brought to Sriperumbadur temple, when she was as young as three, on September 6, 2001, for her presence in rituals. On Thursday, Sriperumbadur forest ranger Selva Kumar and a veterinary doctor visited the temple to check on the health of the elephant and took up the issue of her rehabilitation with the temple management. “The temple authorities said they have identified the land near the temple, which has a natural pond and vegetation..