Bandipur: In a tragic incident, an elephant named Vinayaka, also known as Akkiraja, residing at the Rampura elephant camp in the Bandipur tiger reserve, passed away on Tuesday.

The sudden demise occurred after the elephant fell ill and collapsed during a training session at the camp. The exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed, pending the post-mortem report, according to officials from the Forest Department.

Vinayaka, originally captured in the forest areas of Coimbatore in 2021, had later been relocated to the Madumalai Tiger Reserve. The elephant had become a source of concern for the residents of Yelachetti village due to its aggressive behavior. It had attacked houses in the Kundukere area of the Bandipur tiger reserve, prompting local families, who had been living there for several years, to appeal for the capture of the wild elephant.

Their pleas resulted in a capture operation led by the Forest Department in June this year, relocating the elephant to the Rampura elephant camp, where it was renamed 'Karna'.

K Paramesh, Assistant Forest Conservator of the Hedeyala subdivision, expressed surprise at the sudden deterioration of Vinayaka's health. Despite showing no prior signs of illness, the elephant unexpectedly collapsed during its training session. Despite the efforts of veterinary doctors, the elephant did not respond to treatment, leading to its demise.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.

“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.

“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.

In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.

Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.