Police seize illegal drone flying over elephants

Mysuru: The first round of cannon firing drill to make the Dasara elephants and horses get accustomed to the booming sound of the cannons was held at the Dasara Exhibition parking lot here this noon.

All 14 Dasara elephants led by Captain Abhimanyu, were led out of the Palace to the parking lot, where 38 horses from the Mounted Police Force joined them.

Except for Abhimanyu, the remaining 13 elephants were chained so that they do not go berserk on hearing the sound.

While Rohit and Hiranya displayed little fear during the first round of cannon firing, five to six horses jolted but remained calm thereafter. In all, 21 shots were fired from seven cannons in three rounds.

As a safety measure, fire safety jackets were provided to the Pirangi Dal staff, who have been given the responsibility of firing the cannons during Jumboo Savari and Torchlight Parade.

Drone seized

Police have seized a drone which was hovering above Dasara elephants and horses illegally and capturing photos and video of cannon firing.

The drone, which was flying above the elephants, fell to the ground and Police seized it.

It is illegal to fly drones and click photos without obtaining permission from Police. Cops are tracing the drone’s owner.

Meanwhile, DCF (Wildlife) Dr. I.B. Prabhu Gowda said that the first day of cannon firing drill was held successfully and added that the elephants did not panic.

Srirangapatna Dasara

He further said that a proposal to send Dasara elephants Mahendra, Hiranya and Lakshmi to Srirangapatna Dasara has been forwarded to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) for approval besides stating that the Nishane Aane for Jumboo Savari is yet to be decided. Two more training will be held on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1.

DCP (Law and Order) M. Muthuraju, DCF Dr. K.N. Basavaraju, Veterinarians Dr. Mujeeb, Dr. Ramesh Kumar and Dr. Mirza Waseem, Palace ACP Chandrashekar, ACP (Traffic) Parashuramappa, elephant caretakers Rangaraju and Akram and others were present during the cannon firing drill.