Elephants, mahouts walk home from Jhargram to Varanasi

Ranchi: Four elephants and their 11 mahouts, who were stranded in Jhargram, West Bengal, during the lockdown, reached the outskirts of Ranchi on Saturday as they make their way towards home at Gyanpur village under Bhadohi municipal area in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
The mahouts and the elephants — three female and one male — made a living by seeking alms in the concrete jungles along the Bengal-Jharkhand border, but things became difficult after the lockdown and they faced difficulties arranging for food.The group left Jhargram on June 8 after the lockdown was relaxed.
Among the elephants is the 25-year-old Gulabi. Her mahout Lalmani Tiwari said they were provided with food and shelter in Jhargram by the BDO. “We had no problem there, but there was no way to earn any money. Feeding the elephants, however, was a challenge. Once we get back home, we can at least earn by farming and keep the elephant safe,” he said.
Tiwari’s assistant Islam, a 20-year-old from Prayagraj, has been with the team since Gulabi set out to earn. “We bought her at the Sonpur fair in 2003, but took her out for work in 2015. In these years, we have traveled across Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bengal almost every year,” Islam said.
On the journey, the team carries a tent, bed rolls, mosquito-nets, a kerosene stove, utensils and some clothes. “Earlier, we used to stay in villages with people around, but since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have not stayed in villages as the people might be concerned about infection,” Tiwari said. The elephants are being fed with leaves and branches on the way.
Tiwari and the rest of the group left Ranchi and continued with their journey to Varanasi on Sunday morning.