Rajasthan government to resume elephant ride at Amer Fort

  • | Tuesday | 24th November, 2020

The good news for tourists in Rajasthan as the iconic elephant ride at the Amer Fort will resume soon. The Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government has decided to allow elephant rides in Jaipur`s Amer fort.

The good news for tourists in Rajasthan as the iconic elephant ride at the Amer Fort will resume soon. The Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government has decided to allow elephant rides in Jaipur`s Amer fort.

This comes as a significant move for mahouts who were completely dependent on elephant tourism for their livelihoods and were in dire straits after the prohibition on elephant rides in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The ban on elephant rides was implemented on March 18, triggering a difficult eight-month period for mahouts in Jaipur`s Amer fort and Hathi Gaon areas.

"(Elephant rides) were closed since March 18 when lockdown had started. It shall be restored again from tomorrow onwards," Director, Archaeology and Museum, Rajasthan, told India Today.

India Today had done a story in June on the miserable condition of mahouts who live on the outskirts of Jaipur. The story had highlighted how mahouts were finding it extremely difficult to sustain in the aftermath of the ban on elephant tourism. Four elephants died in Jaipur`s Hathi Gaon during this period.

Prior to the nationwide lockdown, hundreds of tourists frequented the area, several of whom preferred to take elephant rides through Hathi Gaon and near the Amer Fort.

Around 8,000 families in Hathi Gaon and areas near the precincts of iconic Amer Fort in Jaipur are dependent on nearly 90 elephants to sustain this business. These families, including those of mahouts, caretakers, farmers who provide fodder for elephants, and tourist guides had been adversely affected as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.

The upkeep of a single elephant costs Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per day.

However, the privately-managed Hathi Kalyan Samiti, which used to provide only Rs 600 per elephant earlier, has stopped doing so. This further added to the woes of mahouts and those involved in elephant tourism in Jaipur.

The nationwide lockdown bought the tourism industry in Rajasthan to a standstill. While foreign tourists vanished during this time, the small number of Indian tourists visiting the areas were just not enough to revive elephant tourism in India`s Pink City.

"Foreign tourists are nil. Till the time the government does not open visa, foreign tourists will not come. We can start the rides for domestic tourists. Even if Indian tourists start arriving, things will be okay. The 600 rupees per month, that used to be given, have stopped coming. It was given for two months ... They are not giving any reply (as to why it has been stopped)," Ballu Khan, president of the Hathi Gaon Vikas Samiti had told India Today in September of this year.


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