Hyderabad: Owaisi asks CM for trained elephant for Muharram, Bonalu

Hyderabad: The All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), president and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, asked the Telangana government to arrange a trained elephant permanently for religious processions in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Letter to Telangana CM

In a letter to the chief minister of Telangana, A Revanth Reddy, the AIMIM party president said that in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, many religious processions are held every year on different dates.

“Trained elephants are used in these religious processions like Muharram, Bonalu, Gyarvi Shareef, etc. There used to be a trained elephant available in Telangana state, which was utilised during these processions. But since the death of the elephant, there is no trained elephant in Telangana. Every year, during these occasions, a trained elephant needs to be arranged from other states, which is causing a lot of hurdles and inconvenience,” Asaduddin Owaisi said.

Elephants being brought from other states

During the Bonalu and Muharram procession, the organisers are bringing elephants from other states to participate in the Muharram procession.

The participation of elephants in the procession is an age-old practice in Bonalu and Muharram processions in Hyderabad.