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Madurai Meenakshi temple elephant to get additional mud flooring in stable
The Tamil Nadu government is now planning to extend the facility of mud flooring for all the temple elephants in the state.
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Parvati, the temple elephant at the famed Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, will be provided more mud flooring in her stable, local media Dinamalar reported on Wednesday. The Tamil Nadu government is planning to extend the facility to all the temple elephants in the state.
Parvati had recently contracted cataract in one of her eyes. After Parvati's condition was reported, Hindu Religion and Charitable Endowment minister P Sekar Babu and local ministers P Moorthy and Palanivel Thiagarajan visited the temple along with experts from Tamil Nadu University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and diagnosed the condition of Parvati’s eyes.
The 24-year-old pachyderm contracted eye disease due to dehydration, veterinarian said. The prolonged treatment by the experts is helping the pachyderm and the cataract is disappearing fast.
Dedicated to goddess Meenakshi and her consort Sundareshwar, the temple is one of the oldest and most beautiful temples in Tamil Nadu. Spread over 14 acres in the heart of Madurai city, the temple is paved with granite stones.
A few years ago, a portion of this granite floor was removed and paved with mud to provide comfort to the elephant. The mud floor is comfortable for the elephant to walk around, according to the temple management. Finding the mud floor helpful to elephants, the temple authorities have decided to extend this mud flooring in the stable.
The temple management has also decided to float tenders for repairing Veeravasantha Rayar Hall damaged by the fire in 2018. The granite stones for repair works are stored in the temple farm at Senkulam. Once the tenders are finalized, the hall renovation work will start, temple authorities said.
After the state government was informed about the temple management decision to extend mud flooring for elephant Parvati, the state government is now contemplating on extending this facility for all the temple elephants in the state. The decision will be placed at the state assembly shortly.
