Cause of elephant rampage in Kandy revealed

COLOMBO (News 1st); An inquiry has revealed that the elephant rampage reported during the second Kumbal Perahera of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic was caused when the elephant from the Kataragama Devalaya became frightened while parading the streets on Tuesday (22) night.

A spokesperson for the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic said that the situation was brought under control on Tuesday (22) night itself, and the perahera operations will continue without any hindrance.

The Second Kumbal Perahera of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy paraded the streets at the auspicious time of 7:05 PM on Tuesday (22) night.

Moments later, an elephant from the Kataragama Devala Perahera that was part of the perahera from all the four devala's became frightened while parading the streets and went on a rampage.

Thereafter, several other elephants in the Perahera also became agitated due to the behavior of this particular elephant. 

"There are certain horns used by children. So, when one was used, the elephant put its trunk out to inspect it. That is what they usually do. So, when the elephant extended its trunk, the person blew the horn, and it frightened the elephant. So when he turned, he collided with the other elephant carrying the casket. Then, he started to run. I could have stopped the elephant within 100 meters. But, the people on either side of the road were making a lot of noise. That frightened the elephant even more," explained Ashoka Chandraseekra, a Mahout.