Pregnant elephant mowed by goods train in Jalpaiguri
Alipurduar/Jalpaiguri: A pregnant elephant was killed when a goods train mowed it while it was crossing the railway tracks at Chapramari in the Jalpaiguri district in the wee hours of Thursday. Another elephant was killed by a train in the Digaru Panbari section of the Lumding Division in Assam.
The incident occurred in the Gorumara forest division of Jalpaiguri. Forest sources stated an elephant herd was crossing the tracks near Railway Pole No. 68 at Chapramari, situated between Chalsa and Nagrakata stations.
Around 2:30 am on Thursday, a pregnant elephant, moving slowly, was hit and killed by a dolomite-laden goods train travelling from Dalgaon to Siliguri Junction.
Although the rest of the herd managed to cross the railway line and enter the Chapramari forest, the pregnant elephant couldn’t make it in time. The collision with the train resulted in the rupture of her womb, causing the fetus to come out.
Postmortem has already been completed. The investigation report revealed that 8 bones in the elephant’s spine were fractured. Forest officials believe that such fractures would require a significant impact.
The forest department will be asking the railways for the speed logbook to determine the speed of the freight train
Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Debal Roy stated: “This is a tragic and painful event. We will take measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
Forest Minister Jyotipriya Mallick pledged that the state forest department would take strict action. He stated, “Elephants are not only a treasure of North Bengal but of the entire country. Such incidents of elephants being hit by trains are unacceptable. Similar accidents have happened on the North East Border Railway, in places like Assam and Bengal. We will file an FIR against the drivers and guards of the specific goods train, and we will also prohibit train operations at night on the 167 km stretch between Alipurduar Junction and Siliguri Junction.”
Since the gauge was changed in 2004, 71 wild elephants have died on the 168 km railway from Siliguri Junction to Alipurduar Junction.
Amar Jit Gautam, DRM of Alipurduar Division, termed the incident unfortunate and mentioned that the driver may not have realized the situation due to the train’s speed.
He stated: “A sharp turn and slope in the railway line made it impossible for the driver to avoid the elephant even with braking. An investigation is on and if the driver’s negligence is found, appropriate action will be taken. The implementation of the IDS (Integrated Elephant Detection System) has been undertaken to detect elephants in advance and prevent such accidents, although the entire track is yet to be equipped.”
