Vettikattu Chandrasekharan, a mighty tusker, was supposed to be caparisoned and paraded at Mahadeva Temple at Chengannur in the coastal district of Alappuzha, Kerala, on December 29 as part of the annual temple festival.
The elephant, owned by the Travancore Devaswom Board, the apex body that controls the affairs of over 1,200 temples in the State, has been one of the star attractions of temple festivals of Kerala. The day before, the tusker had participated in the sheeveli procession carrying the deity on its back in the morning and late evening.
In the morning, when the mahouts went to fetch the elephant for the procession, they were in for a shock. The elephant was gasping for breath and couldn’t stand despite them prodding it over and over again. The giant animal, who was struggling even to lift its trunk, was helpless, unable to do anything.
