Elephant calf rescued from ditch - Train traffic disrupted for seven hours

TT, Alipurduar, Nov. 22: The forest department today rescued an elephant calf that had fallen into a ditch along railway tracks near here, disrupting train movement for over seven hours on the Alipurduar Junction-Siliguri stretch.

As the foresters swung into action with a JCB and a net to pull the male calf out of the muddy ditch, keeping a worried mother away, seven trains were held up at different stations.

Around 6.30am today, people of Panijhora found the calf in the muddy ditch along the tracks near pillar number 161/2. "The calf's mother was seen near the ditch trying to pull it out with the trunk. After villagers informed, foresters from three ranges under the Buxa Tiger Reserve (West) division arrived to rescue the calf. As the mother elephant was running on the tracks, railway officials stopped trains between Alipurduar Junction and Siliguri," said a source in the forest department.

The spot where the calf, which according to the foresters is two years old, was found is 13km from here and under the BTR.

The villagers said the calf was part of a herd that was crossing the tracks last night.

As a large number of people gathered at the spot, a posse of police personnel was also called in for crowd control.

The forest staff had come with a JCB and a net for the rescue operation that went on for more than four hours. The 50-member staff was chased away by the mother elephant at least 30 times.

"After efforts of four hours, the staff brought out the calf with the help of the JCB and the net. But the animal could not stand as the hind legs had injuries," said Ujjwal Ghosh, the field director of the BTR.

"Later, the calf was taken to the veterinary unit at Rajabhatkhawa for treatment. Vets will administer saline and medicines to the calf. Tomorrow, we will decide what to do with the calf," he added.

The trains delayed by the rescue efforts included the Delhi-bound Capital Express and Mahananda Express. Pranab Jyoti Sharma, the chief public relations officer, Northeast Frontier Railway, said the train traffic resumed at 2.10pm.