NEW DELHI, August 23, 2005: Elephants and their keepers in the northern Indian city of Jaipur are to have a new home soon in a “hathi gaon,” a village exclusively for the pachyderms, it was reported. Elephants in Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan state, are used to carry loads and ferry tourists to the city’s hilltop forts. They usually spend the night on the streets. The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has allotted 30 hectares of land in the capital’s suburbs to the Rajasthan Tourism department for the village, IANS news agency reported. The elephant village, which is expected to become a tourist attraction, will provide shelter to about 100 elephants and their mahouts, or keepers. The project will include a natural habitat shelter for elephants with an extensive plantation and a veterinary hospital. There will be residences for the mahouts and a small man-made pond for the elephants to bathe in. Tourist facilities will include a restaurants, an artefact manufacturing centre and a museum depicting Rajasthani culture and tradition.
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