Delhi’s last elephants await marching orders

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The mighty Heera marched through a crowded slum chewing bamboo, oblivious that freedom from life as one of Delhi’s last six elephants at work in the polluted city could be just around the corner.

After  years of pressure from activists who accuse the animals’ owners of flouting wildlife regulations by keeping them in a city, authorities have ordered the seizure of the elephants.

They plan to move the 40-year-old tusker  along with Dharamvati, Laxmi, Gangaram, Moti and Chandni — out of the smoggy Indian capital, but warn it could take months to find a new home for them.