Kollur temple elephant dies

The ailing Kollur temple elephant died on Tuesday night. The 62-year-old, ‘Indira’ was suffering from fever for the past three days and was treated by a veterinary doctor from Sakrebailu.

The female jumbo was accommodated in a shed in Kalyani Gudde area in Kollur, about 150 meters away from Sri Mookambika temple. She was not able to get up and walk due to weakness.

Though she showed signs of recovery on Tuesday evening, her condition worsened by night and she died at around 9 pm. Indira was donated to Kollur temple by a timber merchant who was a devotee of the temple. She was shifted from Balehonnur to Kollur about 22 years ago.

Thousands of devotees held the pachyderm in high reverence and for many, the visit to the temple was not complete without offering a banana to Indira.

Garlands of jasmine were placed on her and hundreds of devotees mourned her death. The priests in the locality conducted the rituals on Wednesday. After the rituals, a team of veterinary doctors conducted the autopsy.

The traders near the temple and auto drivers in Kollur did not attend to their work on Wednesday and voluntarily participated in the last rites of the elephant. As a part of the ritual, to be conducted after the death of a temple elephant, ‘Gaja Moksha’ homa was held on Wednesday, temple sources added.