Blind elephant survives after being hit by truck

NEW DELHI: Even elephants need to tread with caution in Delhi’s notorious traffic. Barely 24 hours after seven elephants were mowed down by a train in West Bengal, a blind tusker was hit by a speeding truck on Ring Road near the Kashmiri Gate ISBT late Thursday night. But unlike the wild herd, timely help by wildlife activists and the police ensured that Bholu, a full grown elephant, lived to see another day.
The badly injured elephant lay on the ground for four hours before he was helped on his feet by a crane brought in by the police around 2am. Kartick Satyanarayan of Wildlife SOS, who was on the spot, said it was crucial that the elephant was made to stand because it could have suffered multi-organ failure had it remained lying down.
"It is wonderful to see the cooperation and support from the Delhi Police. The Wildlife SOS and Friendicoes SECA teams were able to give much needed veterinary care to the elephant and hopefully the elephant will be saved," he said.
Abhishek Narayanan, also from Wildlife SOS, said the animal was being walked by its mahut without a reflector, which meant the elephant could hardly be seen from a distance. "Walking an elephant at night with no reflectors is asking for trouble," he said.
The cops said that the incident was reported around 10pm. The elephant and its mahut, Suraj Pal (30), were on their daily journey from Laxmi Nagar to Wazirabad when tragedy struck. "The elephant was taking a turn when the truck hit the elephant. The impact was such that both the elephant and mahut fell. Bholu hit against a boundary wall which aggravated its pain. The truck driver, identified as Rakesh Kumar, was also injured along with the mahut. Both of them were taken to Shusrut Trauma Centre, barely 400 metres from the accident site. Both were released after first aid," said a cop.
The truck driver was arrested and a case of rash and negligent driving registered against him. The truck was on his way from Faridabad to the Azadpur Market.
Two veterinary doctors, Dr K D Sharma and Dr Prasad, worked hard in dressing the wounds of the elephant and administered painkiller injections and antibiotics to treat the shock and trauma of the animal, whose condition continues to be serious.