Srirangapatna Dasara: Elephants run amok, cause panic

Srirangapatna: The Dasara festival in Srirangapatna faced an early setback when two elephants, Hiranya and Lakshmi, caused panic by running amok on Thursday night and Friday afternoon.

The elephants, including Mahendra, the one set to carry the ceremonial golden howdah during the procession, had arrived in town on Thursday evening along with Hiranya and Lakshmi. The incident occurred near the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple during a puja, when Hiranya became startled upon seeing a white horse, causing the elephant to run wildly in different directions. The mahout quickly managed to calm the elephant.

However, on Friday afternoon, as the elephants were being taken to Bannimantap for the Dasara festivities, Lakshmi became agitated in front of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and ran erratically on the road. The sudden outburst caused panic among the gathered crowd, who fled in all directions for safety.

Mahouts and caretakers, demonstrating quick thinking, managed to control the situation by calming the elephant and restraining it with iron chains.

Despite the scare, the situation was brought under control, ensuring that preparations for the festival continued.