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No matter how much one argues that Kerala is free from the matrix of vote bank politics, a cursory glance at the recent history of the Thrissur Pooram will shed light on the influence exerted by two Devaswoms on the State governments to bypass court orders and seek exemption from safety norms.
In the latest episode, the State government tweaked its order, mandating a 50-metre distance between elephants and crowds and re-verification of fitness certificates issued for elephants by Forest department veterinarians, following pressure from the Elephant Owners’ Association and the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu Devaswoms, the two major organisers of the Thrissur Pooram. This is not the first time the State government has yielded to the pressure of two influential Devaswoms and the festival lobby.
During COVID-19
When the State government tried to curb the conduct of a full-fledged Thrissur Pooram following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2021, the Devaswoms had decided to limit the festival to a mere ritual in protest. Interestingly, BJP leader Padmaja Venugopal, who was then contesting the Assembly elections on a Congress ticket, went on a hunger strike, demanding the conduct of a full-fledged Pooram. Later, the State government gave in to the demand of Devaswoms.
In 2019, when the State was heading to general elections, the government’s decision to ban celebrity elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, which has a history of killing people, from participating in the Thrissur Pooram, kicked up a controversy. The Thrissur Collector banned Ramachandran from the Pooram following a recommendation by the then Chief Wildlife Warden and the Thrissur City Police. Later, the decision was reversed by the State government after the Elephant Owners’ Association issued a boycott call.
After Puttingal
In 2016, despite the High Court banning the use of high-decibel crackers and the display of fireworks from sunset to sunrise in the wake of the firework tragedy at Puttingal, which claimed around 109 lives and injured around 280 people, the State Cabinet gave permission to the Pooram. Later, the court allowed low-decibel fireworks at night during the Thrissur Pooram, exempting it from the ban. Further, the candidates in the 2016 Assembly polls exerted pressure on the State government when the Forest department placed restrictions on parading captive elephants during daytime.
In 2013, a joint protest by Devaswoms forced the State to give exemption to the organisers of Thrissur Pooramafter the amended Kerala State Captive Elephant (Management & Maintenance) Rules barred the tuskers from being paraded between 11 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.
‘A bad precedent’
In 2023 as well, the organisers threatened to limit the celebration to rituals unless the decision to hike the rent for the Pooram exhibition ground by the Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB) is withdrawn. The government later yielded to their demand. M.N. Jayachandran, a former member of the Kerala State Animal Welfare Board and an animal rights activist, said it was the unhealthy practice followed by successive governments that set a bad precedent in Kerala. Vote banks associated with the festival are the main reason for the State giving in too much, he said.
