This festival will have no elephants; The money allocated for elephants will be used to build homes for the homeless, says Sreekumaramangalam Temple Committee

Sreekumaramangalam Temple to Hold Festival Without Elephants; Funds to Be Used for Building Homes for the Homeless

Sreekumaramangalam Temple has decided to conduct its festival without elephants. The temple administration has also decided to use the money that would have been spent on elephants to build a house for a homeless family. This model initiative has been taken by the Sreekumaramangalam Temple in Kumarakom, Kottayam.

The temple is currently in its festival season, which is celebrated on a grand scale. However, despite all the traditional festivities, there will be no elephants this time. The Devaswom has decided that elephants will no longer be used in temple festivals. This precautionary step has been taken to prevent incidents like the one at Manakkulangara Temple in Koyilandy, where a rampaging elephant caused fatalities.

In addition to removing elephants from the festival, the temple has also previously implemented progressive changes, such as allowing devotees to visit the temple wearing shirts. The temple officials also clarified that elephants are not an essential part of the ezhunnallathu (procession), as Sreekumaramangalam is the only temple in Kerala with a golden chariot (Thanka Ratham), which plays a significant role in the rituals."