Death of elephants: Railway ministry the culprit?

Following the incident of a speeding goods train killing seven elephants in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, the matter has been taken up with environment and forest ministry and efforts are on to discuss it with Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"We have taken up the matter with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and a high-level meeting has been scheduled next week to discuss ways to prevent such accidents," Chief Wildlife Warden West Bengal S B Mondol told PTI on Friday.

Subsequently, a meeting with Railway Board officials and the forest department will be held in New Delhi on September 28, he said.

Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), North Bengal S Patel said he would submit a report on the accident.

Describing the death of seven elephants on Thursday as "unprecedented and shocking", WWF (WB) Director Sashwati Sen said they were trying to meet Railway minister Mamata Banerjee.

"Unless the matter is taken up at the top level, no positive step will be taken to prevent such accidents. Our earlier appeals have fallen on deaf ears," she said.

Sen said the WWF had earlier asked for halting movement of night trains in the New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar section passing through wildlife sanctuaries and National Parks and restricting their speed.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Atanu Raha said accidents involving elephants had increased after conversion of tracks from meter gauge to broad gauge.

He said elephants being intelligent knew about timings of couple of trains that passed when the tracks were metre gauge.
After the tracks were converted to broad gauge and goods train began running at all times of the day it confused the pachyderms, he said.

Col S Banerjee, currently director, WPSI, Eastern region, who had filed a PIL in 2001 opposing the gauge conversion, said his apprehensions were now coming true.

He said all wildlife NGOs should jointly pressurise the government to adopt measures to save elephants and other animals from trains.

With various measures were being suggested by the forest department and NGOs, Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve R P Saini said the only alternative to prevent such accidents was to construct elevated tracks in that area.

However, secretary of Nature Environment and Wildlife Society Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, expressed doubt whether the Railways would agree to construct elevated tracks for such a long distance as it would be a costly affair.

He said construction of a separate railway line might be of some help.