Sep 11, 2007 10:14 AM
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Elephants in the Indian capital Delhi, which used to move freely around the city, will now have to obey new traffic laws.
Police
will only allow the movement of elephants for a few hours in the
afternoon and at night, when traffic is usually quieter than in the
morning and evening.
Until
now, elephants used to move around on Delhi's roads at any time of the
day, leading to a serious problem with traffic congestion.
There have also been many collisions between elephants and vehicles in the city.
Penalties
Elephants, along with ox carts, lone wandering cows and goats are a common sight on Delhi's roads.
" Accidents do occur sometimes at night when the elephants are not clearly visible "
Traffic police officer
Disobeying the new rules carries heavy penalties.
"Elephants owners will be fined or jailed for a month if they do not obey the rules, " said a traffic police officer.
"There
are 48 different categories of road users in Delhi, ranging from
elephants and camels to a plethora of mechanised and non-mechanised
modes of transport, " a senior traffic police officer added.
The
decision to restrict the times during which elephants can move around
the capital was taken at a meeting between the elephant owners and
police.
More than 30
elephants, which live with their handlers along the banks of the Yamuna
river in the city, are mostly used for marriage and religious
ceremonies as well as advertising and promotions.
'Tiring'
One elephant owner, Mohammed Saleem, told the BBC this decision will prove hard for the animal.
"If an elephant has to go from one part of the city to another, it has
to start off at night and it only returns back in the wee hours of the
next morning, after completing its work - which is tiring, " said Mr
Saleem.
The elephants in the city are brought from the states of Assam and Bihar.
Suhas,
another elephant handler, said they control these elephants on the busy
roads by tapping their feet on their side as they ride them.
"Accidents
do occur sometimes at night when the elephants are not clearly visible
because of their dark skin, " said a traffic police officer.
A
decision to attach reflectors to elephants was taken a few months ago
in order to make them more visible to drivers at night and limit the
chance of collisions.
Wildlife officials have expressed concern about the use of elephants in the capital for commercial purposes.
India has about 5, 000 domesticated elephants.