NFR steps help prevent jumbos deaths on rail tracks

SNS, 31 OCTOBER 2019, SILIGURI: Railway officials have claimed that wild elephants are crossing railway tracks through several areas, which are not notified corridors in North Bengal and Assam.They also said that 140 elephants were saved from being hit by trains during the current year, with various preventive measures the Railways has taken up.

Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Subhanan Chanda said that more than 165 wild elephants were saved last year too, due to the alertness of railway staff.

The NFR claims come at a time when forest and wildlife activists have been blaming the railway authorities for the death of elephants and other animals on railway tracks in Bengal and Assam.

Although there are 67 notified elephant corridors which notified jointly in consultation with the forest department of the respective states in five divisions of the NFR-Katihar, Alipurduar, Rangiya, Lumding and Tinsukia- it has been noticed that wild elephants often cross railway tracks through areas which are not notified as corridors.

"As railway drivers are instructed to run the train with controlled speed through the notified elephant corridor areas, cases of elephant-hit have come down drastically. But it is very difficult to control a train when the driver suddenly notices elephants on railway tracks in areas which are not notified as elephant corridors," Chanda said in a release.

According to railway records, the incidents of elephants crossing railway tractcs are more common in the Alipurduar division, and to some extent in the Lumding and Rangiya divisions.

In the Alipurduar division, there were 115 cases of elephants being saved in 2018 after the driver controlled the train as soon as he saw the animals on the tracks, the NFR said, adding that the figures were 119 in 2017, 145 in 2016 and 118 in 2015.

Citing an example, Mr Chanda said: "On the evening of 28 October this year the driver stopped the passenger train (No 75713) by applying emergency brakes whey he noticed movement of elephants on the tracks between Gulma and Sevoke station near Siliguri under the Alipurduar division. There are 122 incidents where drivers had to stop the train to give way to herds of elephants crossing the track."

it may noted that the NFR authorities have taken up various measures to curb the death of elephants on the tracks. They have installed Laser Speed Radar Guns at places to detect speeding of trains in elephant zones, while all train drivers have been asked to observe all permanent and temporary speed restrictions. The NFR has also installed buzzers that produce the buzzing sound of honey bees at level crossing gates which helps keep the jumbos at bay.

According to NFR authorities, staffs of the pantry car as well as train passengers are being sensitized against throwing food or leftovers near the railway tracks so that elephants or any other animal are not lured to the tracks.

Signage boards have also been put up at all identified elephant corridors to pre-warn divers, while vegetation on both sides of railway tracks has been cleared to improve visibility.