The State Chief Secretary Sajal Chakarvarty’s favourite female elephant ‘Rakhi’ will be groomed for two more years for the traditional elephant ride in the National Park Betla. She can not be pushed in for tourism right now. However new comers in Betla like to see this female jumbo.
The State Chief Secretary who reached Betla last year had spent good times with this female elephant then. The female elephant is growing with each passing day as her trumping gets louder.
Premjit Anand, Divisional Forest Officer Core of the Palamu tiger reserve said the female elephant ‘Rakhi’ is too young to carry the load of the tourists on her back and for this she requires two more years to perform the task.
The female elephant had spent her time in the jungle of the PTR for two days all alone and hungry last year when her mother died of the sound shock of the lightning then.
The officials of the PTR rescued her exactly on the day of the pious festival Raksha Bandhan when sisters tie rakhi on the wrist of their brothers and thus named her ‘Rakhi’.
As the National Park Betla’s two domesticated elephants engaged in elephant ride are growing old and infirm, Anand said ‘Their ages are 60 and 56 years now. They need rest. But only one can be substituted with Rakhi and for this too two years’ wait is required when Rakhi will be ready and groomed to provide a ride to the tourists in the park.’
Will the mahout of these two elephants be guiding Rakhi, the DFO Core said ‘If the two elephants are getting old, their mahouts’ ages are not on a standstill’.
He reiterated Rakhi will get a mahout of her own as these two mahouts cannot tame her.
Anand further said,”She will not be pushed to the forest of PTR. It will be disastrous for her life. She will not be ablr to adjust herself in the PTR. She has to be groomed for elephant ride like two existing female elephants fondly called Anarkali and Juhi.”