Laxmipriya and Bishnupriya never fails to catch the attention of any visitor to Mayapur. They majestically take their evening walk around the campus & you can see the children and adults, calling out ,’Hati, Hati’. In the winter, for 4 months, every saturdays, Sri Sri Radha- Madhava procession is also popularly known to devotees as Hati Procession.
As huge as an animal the elephant is, to give care for them and maintain them is also a herculean task. Thanks to special love and affection of HG Hrimati dasi, ACBSP, supported by Mayapur Management, our Bishnupriya and Laxmipriya are receiving good care.
But,the things have not been easy lately here at the Mayapur Elephant Care Center. Due to the Corona virus pandemic, all our pending projects have come to a grinding halt. Elephants need at least about 4 hours of rest at night and will do so by lying down on its side .Our elephants generally sleep on natural soil under the open sky. However, to ensure that Laksmipriya & Bishnupriya have a dry place to sleep each night, even during heavy monsoon rains, we have a rain shelter with a raised floor of natural soil. The existing shelter has become too small and has been severely damaged this year from the cyclone Amphan. During this year’s heavy and early rains, our growing elephants have knocked down two of the pillars and severely damaged a third pillar. The structure has become too unstable with many cracks, that we need a new, bigger and more solid one.
To make this new rain shelter a reality, we need your help. With a combined effort and everyone’s financial help, the elephants will finally have a proper shelter, where they can stay dry during heavy rainfall and warm during cold and foggy winter weather.
The year 2020 has brought lots of hardship and sufferings to all of us. None the less we are trying to care for our elephants, who are in our care. It’s been extremely difficult to carry on, to say the least.
Basically, we need urgent help with the construction of a new elephant shelter.
A quick update of progress going on at the MAYAPUR Elephant Care Center.
We have finally moved the elephants back to Mayapur as we temporarily shifted them to Rajapur. The monsoon is over and the cold season is starting. It has been predicted that we will get an extra cold Winter this year. With our elephants having no house or shelter now, this means potential health problems. It will not only get very cold, but also extremely foggy, windy and wet.
Elephants are very poor in thermal adjustments or regulating their body temperature during cold winters.
With donations received, we were able to do the foundation for the new and permanent elephant shelter. We also erected the 16 concrete pillars of the structure. However, after scraping the “bottom of the barrel”, all funds have been totally exhausted. There is no more money for the roof!
The roof will cost about ₹195 per SQUARE Feet @ about 4000sqfeet. (₹7,80,000=$10,549)
Please find attached pictures of the roof estimate.
For the floor we will fill up the whole area with raised red soil. It will take about 130 tractor loads @₹1000 per load. The whole shed will be above the annual flood level.
Please keep our elephants in your thoughts and prayers.
Please donate to give Radha Madhava’s elephants, LAKSMIPRIYA & Bishnupriya, a new big shed, to keep them sheltered from heavy rains during the monsoon seasons and safe during cold foggy weather conditions in the winter
Thank you in advance for your help.
Your servant,
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