Guwahati: Uncertainty still looms about whether Joymala would return back to Assam or not. The committee formed by the state government which was lodging at Assam Bhawan in Tamil Nadu to check her health was still unable to inspect her personally.

The four-member team already arrived in Tamil Nadu on September 3, 2022.

Padma Shri Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma is one of the members of the four-member committee set up by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma to monitor the condition of eight other elephants in different parts of Tamil Nadu, including Joymala.

Unfortunately, the committee has yet to learn directly about the health condition of Joymala and the other elephants in Tamil Nadu. The committee has not been given permission by the Tamil Nadu government.

“We are not allowed to go there,” said Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma to TIME8 during an interaction over the phone.

Sarma also says that the committee has investigated from its own sources and is satisfied that Joymala is in good health in the Tamil Nadu temple.

However, under the direction of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, the committee members have been accommodated at Assam Bhawan in Tamil Nadu and are waiting for further instructions.

“As per the media and local forest department personnel, everything seems to be under control. The video that has gone viral is old. Joymala is kept very well in the temple and is loved and respected by the people. There is no reason to worry,” he added.

When asked about the rumours in regard to Joymala’s return to Assam, Sarma said, “Our committee hasn’t reached that stage yet. First, we will have to inspect the eight or nine elephants, including Joymala, for which we have come all the way from Assam to Tamil Nadu. So that hasn’t happened yet. Taking them back to Assam will come in the second phase.”

After visiting the place, Sarma also came to know from his sources that the people or devotees around here have developed an emotional attachment with Joymala, who has been staying in a Vishnu temple in Tamil Nadu for the last 14 years.

“The local media has become more alert after a conflicting situation between the two states over the issue. The media here allegedly reported that the elephant would be taken away by Assam. Reacting to this, the locals expressed strong indignation about this and said they would not allow the elephant to be taken away,” Sarma asserted.

The Padma Shri awardee also feels that at present bringing back Joymala and the other elephants seems to be impossible without the intervention of the chief minister of Assam. “I guess this can be made possible through a political dialogue between the two chief ministers of the state,” Sarma added further.

It may be mentioned that Joymala was reportedly leased out to the temple in 2008, for six months, by an individual from Assam’s Tinsukia district; she was never freed after the lease term was over.

Also Read: Wildlife in Crisis: How & Why Hundreds of Joymalas from Assam Land in Temples of India!