Too little, too late

Maybe her fate was also sealed like the wild elephant, Bangabahadur, who floated into the country from Assam last year and eventually died amid “inadequate” efforts of the authorities concerned.

Though in this case, she got badly injured while getting down from a truck on the night of July 14 in Ishobpur of Moulvibazar.

Hurt, she lay in a field beside Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Sreemangal upazila for around a week.

Rajlakkhi breathed her last around 10:30am yesterday.

A pall of gloom descended in the area as the news of the death spread. Locals alleged that the accident occurred due to negligence of the men of the circus party that had rented her for a show and eventually a lack of proper treatment resulted in the death.

Sirajul Islam, owner of the elephant, said, “I used to rent the animal to circus parties in different areas. A circus group took her on a truck and brought it to Sreemangal from Brahmanbaria after a show on July 14.”

“As she was getting down, the vehicle started before the elephant could land its four legs on the ground. She suddenly fell down and got badly injured. After the incident, the circus group fled the spot.”

Dr Ariful Islam, veterinary surgeon at Sreemangal Upazila Livestock Department, said, “The elephant got hurt in her right leg and waist badly. We tried to give her necessary medicines.”

Rajlakkhi was showing little improvement as doctors were applying allopathic and herbal medicines. “But on Thursday night, her condition got worse. She might have died due to cardiac arrest."

“We have limitation as there is no X-ray facility for animals the in Sreemangal livestock department and Lawacherra Wildlife Rescue Centre.” He said they would have been able to identify the problem and provide required treatment to the animal if an X-ray could have been done. “Before burial, we will collect samples for a postmortem,” he added.

 Tabibur Rahman, assistant conservator of forest of Wildlife Management and Nature Preservation Department, said, “We tried our best to treat the elephant.”

Echoing him, Mihir Kumar Doe, divisional forest officer (DFO) of wildlife management and nature conservation in Sylhet, said Rajlakkhi died after treatment.

Bhanu Lal Ray, union parishad chairman of Sreemangal, said they have decided to donate a land for her burial.

Rajlakkhi was 35-year-old and weighed around three tonnes.

Meanwhile, the only wildlife treatment centre in the region, Lawacherra Wildlife Rescue Centre in Moulvibazar's Kamalganj upazila, is running without any veterinary surgeon, nurses and adequate equipment for over a year. The centre cannot provide ordinary treatment to injured animals, let alone perform critical surgeries.

The centre has been facing a manpower and equipment crisis since its establishment in March 2015. The situation got worse when its only veterinary surgeon resigned in September last year.

Dr Ariful Islam, veterinary surgeon at Sreemangal Livestock Department, has been providing voluntary service at the centre for over a year. “The centre needs to appoint a veterinary surgeon immediately...,” he said.

A number of injured and sick animals have died at the rescue centre for a lack of treatment. When asked, the DFO said he has written to the higher authorities regarding the problems.