Thiruvananthapuram : Ailing captive elephants in Kerala will soon get specialised treatment with the state government approving a proposal for the setting up of a super specialty hospital for pachyderms in the state.
The hospital, the first of its kind in India, is proposed to be set up on a five-acre plot in the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy in Thrissur district, which has the maximum number of captive elephants in the state, with the famed Guruvayoor temple alone having 59 elephants.
A meeting of all stake holders in the project has been convened in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram on June 15 to discuss the funding and other aspects of the project. The super-specialty hospital, estimated to cost Rs.15 crores, would have expert doctors and state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities.
The hospital with in-patient treatment facility for 10 elephants would have all modern facilities like ultra zone scanning, x-ray and endoscopy. A research centre has also been proposed as part of the project.
Though elephants were found suffering from diseases like tuberculosis, arthritis, pulpitis, parasitic infections and feet problems, they were not getting proper treatment in the absence of a specialised hospital.
The Kerala State Elephant Owners Multipurpose Cooperative Society and some temples at Thrissur and Guruvayoor have extended support to the project.