MYSURU, 24 AUG

Abhimanyu is the heaviest among the first batch of nine elephants which are now housed on Mysuru Palace premises for Dasara festival. Abhimanyu, which carries the golden 'howdah' during Vijayadashami procession, weighed 5,560 kilograms, up from 5,160kg a year ago. Elephants Gopi and Lakshmi have lost weight compared to last year.

The nine Dasara elephants, which entered Mysuru Palace after their arrival from Veeranhosahalli in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve to take part in Dasara festivities, underwent weight checking on Saturday. A lorry weighbridge on Dhanvantari Road in Mysuru was used for the purpose.

Gopi weighed 4,970kg this year against 5,080kg last year, Dhananjaya weighed 5,155kg, Bhima 4,945 kg, Kanjan 4,515 kg, Ekalavya 4,730kg, Varalakshmi 3,495kg, Lakshmi 2,480kg and Rohith 3,625kg.

Earlier in the day, the elephants were taken from Mysuru Palace premises to the weighbridge at Dhanvantri Road covering a distance of over 3km. Vehicles of police and forest departments escorted the elephants. A magnetic metal scanner attached to escort vehicles screened for nails and metals in the path of the jumbos.

A special diet and training to familiarise Jumbo Savari route will start on Sunday. A kitchen was set up to prepare nutritious food for the jumbos. Boiled rice cooked with jowar, green gram, black gram, wheat, vegetables and onion are given for Dasara jumbos. It will be topped with half kg of butter and served to each elephant before their stroll in the morning and after their stroll in the evening.

After their stroll in the morning and before their stroll in the evening, they will be fed with Kusre-paddy, coconut, jaggery, groundnut cake and sugarcane packed with hay straw. During the day, the elephants consume green grass and branch fodder (leaves of Banyan tree) sticking to a menu prepared by the Forest Department. –Salar News