God’s Own Country Kerala will soon have India’s first exclusive hospital for elephants, a veterinarian said here on Sunday. Noted elephant veterinarian Jacob Cheeran told the media, “The hospital will have an in-patient treatment facility for 10 elephants at a time. Besides, the state-of-the-art laboratory facilities would be there.”
The decision to establish a veterinary hospital solely for elephants has been taken in the view of growing number of giant mammals above the age of 50. “The in-patient facility has become very essential as in the coming years, majority of 500 captive elephants in Kerala will be aged over 50 years and would require augmented healthcare support,” Cheeran explained.
The hospital will be set up on a five-acre plot in the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy. It is expected to cost Rs10 crore. “The contribution and the role of various agencies will be identified and then the Centre will be doing the needful,” added Cheeran.
On June 15, a meeting of all the stakeholders in this proposed elephant hospital will be held in the State capital Thiruvananthapuram.
The project — prepared by veterinary doctors and experts in Veterinary College, Mannuthy — was submitted to the Central Government for its approval on June 12, 2012.
According to a source, the hospital would have two satellite units, one in Thrissur and another in Kottur. It would have modern facilities like ultra zone scanning, X-ray, endoscopy, cremation ground and breeding unit, along with a a research centre.
Elephants in Kerala are suffering from chronic diseases like tuberculosis, arthritis, pulpitis, parasitic infections and feet problems. At a time, 10 to 15 elephants can be treated here and ophthalmology would be offered.