Thiruvananthapuram, July 17 : The month of 'Karkidakam' according to Malayalam calendar commences from Sunday, and with it begins the wellness treatment for elephants. While the last two years there was no wellness treatment for elephants due to Covid -19 and related issues, it has commenced at Thrissur from Sunday onwards with more than 17 elephants participating. For the elephant crazy people of Kerala, even the wellness treatment attracts several people. On Sunday, Kerala Revenue minister K. Rajan inaugurated the wellness treatment for elephants at Thrissur Paramekkavu temple premises and honoured the oldest elephant among the crop, Chandrashekharan who is all of 90 years. There are around 700 captive elephants in Kerala owned by individuals as well as temples and most of them are provided with Ayurvedic wellness treatment to make them healthy and fit during the 'Karikdakom' month. Traditional feast for elephants, 'Anayootu' began at the Paramekkavu temple premises marking the beginning of the wellness treatment. Devotees and locals are also given chance to provide elephants with food including sugarcane, jaggery, rice, banana, coconut leaves, palm leaves, etc. In the month of 'Karkidakam', the elephants are provided Ayurveda treatment which includes feeding the elephants with a mix of Ayurveda dishes like 'Chyavanaprash'. K. Asokan, an elephant owner from Kollam district while speaking to IANS said: "The elephants need this Ayurveda therapy just like human beings during the Malayalam month of 'Karikidakam' and they have to be given this treatment so that they don't go berserk after they are overworked and overstressed during routine times." Notably, an elephant is hired at a rate of Rs 3000 to Rs 10,000 per day and almost every day, the elephants are out in the sun walking miles through tarred roads to participate in temple functions, and school functions, and even in weddings some times. /IANS