Jumbos will campaign no more

Gulabkali and Bhola, two amiable jumbos, were among the most sought after at one time, especially during elections. Not this time though, as their mahouts feel lumbering down dusty roads for hours is too strenuous for them. `The animal is after all a living being - it cannot be made to walk the streets for hours on end. Two hours is okay, but the campaigning takes over five hours and we cannot let anyone treat our animals like that,` said mahout Yusuf Ali, 34. He is among those who own the 15 elephants that have been living for years in the Yamuna riverbed below the busy ITO bridge. Once upon a time, they were a common sight on Delhi`s streets, lending their lumbering grace to wedding processions and poll campaigns carrying ad hoardings draped on their broad backs and giving joyrides. All that`s becoming rare now. Wildlife protection laws say elephants cannot be made to work. Municipal authorities do not want them fouling up the streets. And now the mahouts that own them have themselves decided not to hire out the jumbos for the poll campaign.

Text: IANS

Pictures: Agencies