Tusker dies after being hit by train in Rajaji Tiger Reserve

DEHRADUN: A 20-year-old tusker was killed after being hit by a train near Raiwala in Motichur range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve on Saturday morning. This is the second such incident in the last one month. Officials of World Wildlife Fund say that the elephant could have been saved if the train had been moving in specified speed limit.
According to eyewitnesses, two elephants were trying to cross the railway track around six in the morning.While one managed to get to the other side, the second tusker was hit by the train and injured on the hind legs and spinal cord. Since no one was there to rescue the jumbo immediately, it soon succumbed to injuries.
“The Kathgodam Express hit the elephant. We tried to save it by tranquillising the animal and taking it to a hospital. However, it failed to regain consciousness. We will lodge a case against railway authorities,” said director of the reserve, Sanatan.
Senior official of World Wildlife Fund, A K Singh said, “The driver of the train did not bother to inform his senior officials about the incident, which exposes the insensitivity of the railways. Had the train been following the specified speed limit, it could have come to a halt. Frequent death of tuskers is a huge loss for the fauna of our country.”
He said that the forest authorities should check if the railways are following safety measures before going for electrification as electric trains have led to increase in such incidents wherever it has been introduced inside the reserve.
Additional divisional railway manager Hitender Malhotra said that he was unaware of the incident and would look into it once he is back in town on Sunday. “Since trains are a heavy rail transport, the engine cannot suddenly come to a halt even if the breaks are applied for a kilometre. So there is no way the tragedy could be averted,” he said.
However, Singh said that certain measures can help in avoiding such incidents like clearance of vegetation in the area can increase visibility and removal of garbage near railway track will not let animals wander near it. “Creation of underpass for movement of animals below tracks and regular patrolling by forest staff, train speed under control and coordination between forest and railway staff are basic safety measures to minimize such accidents in future,” he said.
In mid September, a 40-year-old tusker was killed on tracks between Ramnagar and Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. Last year in February, a young tusker came in contact with a 33 KV high-tension wire hanging low in the Dugada range of Lansdowne forest division and was electrocuted.
After witnessing 20 elephant deaths on railway tracks passing through Rajaji from 1987-2001, authorities had imposed stringent measures, which resulted in zero mortality from 2002-2012. But in 2013, a female elephant was hit on train tracks. Later, the incidents increased due to negligence of man.