Hyderabad, June 10 -- The Telangana forest department has denied permission to use an elephant from Delhi for the historic Bibi-ka-Alam Muharram procession in Hyderabad.

In a statement released on June 6, the principal chief conservative of forests, Elusing Meru, rejected the request of Awqaf Committee of the Nizam in Hyderabad to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a female elephant, 'JoyMoti,' from Delhi to participate in the Muharram procession which this year will be observed on July 5 or 6, depending on the moon sighting.

The senior forest officer stated that the distance between New Delhi and Hyderabad is too long and extremely strenuous for the elephant. "The travel of the elephant over such a long distance will put a lot ...