Trained elephants may not be used for polls

SNS, Siliguri, 15 July 2013: Following objections from animal lovers, the forest department has not yet come to the decision of providing trained elephants for transportation of polling personnel during rural polls. 

The Jalpaiguri district administration decided towards the requisition of a few trained elephants, during the poll preparatory meeting, and informed the forest officials about the requirement. The objective of this decision was to carry polling personnel across riverine areas, if floods due to heavy rains affected the region before the fifth phase of the rural polls, on 25 July. 

Though district forest authorities immediately forwarded the district administration’s proposal to their higher authorities, no green signal has yet been received. 

A senior forest official said that divisional forest officers would not provide trained elephants without permission from higher authorities because the animals are always engaged in forest protection. 

On the other hand, higher authorities can easily provide trained elephants if the Election Commission of India tells them. Forest officials are indecisive in this regard, after media highlighted the matter and a group of animal lovers informed the matter to the department’s higher authorities. It may be noted that a few trained elephants were put to service to provide relief materials to flood victims last year. 

The elephants were also engaged in carrying students to schools for examinations after a bridge on a river had collapsed. The forest officials were answerable for the deployment of elephants after media had highlighted the matter, with photographs of elephants carrying students. 

Under condition of anonymity, a senior divisional forest officer said: “A few adult trained elephants, those habituated with the job, may be provided in cases of emergency at two or three places, during elections. Authorities would not allow all trained elephants, treated as staff of forest wildlife division, for rural polls.” 

“In fact the employees of forest department (wildlife division) are exempted from general election duty,” forest officials said.Nearly 50 trained elephants are engaged in forest protection.