Hyderabad: Shia Companions request forest dept for elephant Rajni during Muharram procession

Hyderabad: A city-based organization, the Shia Companions, has urged the State Forest department to issue a government order according permission to use Rajni, the local elephant, for the Muharram procession next month.

Syed Ali Jaffry, general secretary of Shia Companions, said it was an age-old practice to carry the Bibi-ka-Alam on an elephant by the custodians on the Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram.

At a meeting held recently, it was discussed by officials to issue a GO to provide an elephant for Muharram procession. Rajni, the captive elephant at the Nehru Zoological Park owned by the Nizam Trust, is regularly used during Bonalu and Muharram processions.