The elephant of Arulmigu Sugavaneswarar Temple in the city was shifted to a more spacious shed in Gorimedu area in the city on Saturday.

Rajeswari, the thirty eight-year-old elephant, was suffering from a swollen leg for quite some months, which affected its movement. Due to this, the elephant was not taken out anywhere in the recent past.

A team of veterinary specialists treated Rajeswari.

Meanwhile, the HR and CE Department, which maintains the temple, decided to shift Rajeswari to a more spacious site in Gorimedu area. It constructed a shed for the elephant, a room for the mahout, sunk a borewell and constructed a water tub to enable the animal to take bath regularly.

The department officials imparted training to the animal in climbing the lorry, with the help of experts for the last few weeks. As such, a pit was dug on the temple premises to train the elephant.

After the temple priests performed poojas and archanai, the elephant was shifted to its new venue. Temple sources said that Rajeswari was brought to the temple, when it was only four years old.

Mangayarkarasi, Joint Commissioner of HR and CE Department, and officials of the Animal Husbandry Department monitored the shifting of the elephant.