Trust to come up with steps to prevent jumbo deaths on tracks

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing this with us Sheren!

 

All,

I find it very funny when the railways and forest department come up with

such gimmicks. Having had a fascination for elephants I would eagerly look

at any print which has the photo of elephants. My earliest memories go back

to the photo of I think a pair of elephants crushed in a tunnel by a train

in Kerala. This must be in the late 1980s. From then to this date, the

railways and forest department have only been 'discussing' what needs to be

done.

 

(1) Both railways and forest department do not refer the track laying

process with any of the wildlife conservationists who understand that part

of the jungle. Because of this mainly the tracks cut across elephant

corridors where there is a high probability of elephant crossings.

 

Having studied most of the tracks layed in Southern India and elephant herds

in these areas, this I found was something that was unfortunately a common

issue.

 

Added to that (some points mentioned in the email below), sand mounds along

tracks, food thrown by passengers, etc just compound the issue.

 

THE FUNNIEST OF THE SUGGESTION IS POWER FENCING AND TRENCHES ALONG THE

TRACKS. ITS LIKE ONE FINE DAY I COME HOME AND SEE A DRAINAGE ACROSS MY GATE

NOT LETTING ME GET INTO MY HOUSE BECAUSE MY NEIGHBOUR HAS DECIDED TO DISPOSE

HIS WASTE.

 

when will these people understand that when we are exploiting their homes we

should think atleast one sensible time before implementing things????????

 

Pablo.

 

 

On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 10:53 AM, sheren shrestha <sherensthawrote:

 

>

>

> *

>

>

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Chennai/Trust-to-come-up-with-steps\

-to-prevent-jumbo-deaths-on-tracks/articleshow/4827666.cms

> *

>

> *Trust to come up with steps to prevent jumbo deaths on tracks*

>

> TNN 28 July 2009, 03:28am IST

>

> CHENNAI: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) will carry out a detailed study

> and come out with short-term as well as long-term proposals that can be

> studied and implemented by the railways and forest departments, to prevent

> elephant deaths in Palakkad Division's Kanjikode-Madukkarai section. The

> decision was taken on Monday by the railways and forest departments of

> Tamil

> Nadu and Kerala at a meeting chaired by V Carmelus, additional general

> manager, Southern Railway.

>

> Since January, four elephants have died in the Kanjikode-Madukkarai section

> after being hit by speeding trains at night. " This is a big number. So, we

> chaired the meeting with forest officials of both states to prevent further

> accidents, " said a senior railway official.

>

> WTI was chosen to conduct the study on a consultancy basis after the

> institute's suggestions to the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand had

> helped prevent elephant deaths since 2002. The situation was similar there,

> with the forest department of Uttarakhand and the North Frontier Railway

> involved. The Trust has a Train Hits Mitigation project and is ready to

> replicate it elsewhere.

>

> Southern Railway officials indicated that continuous sounding of the train

> horn had been made compulsory on both 'A' and 'B' lines in the

> Kanjikode-Madukkarai section and that public announcements were being made

> to passengers not to throw food items on the track. The train speed has

> been

> reduced - from 110 kmph to 65 kmph; trials are on for further reduction of

> speed. The railways has requested the forest department to provide power

> fencing and trenches along the route.

>

> The forest department in turn has requested the railways to remove mounds

> of

> earth on both sides of the track for elephants to move away easily from

> approaching trains. The railways contend that widening the area would be

> difficult as it is rocky and 11 acres of land have to be acquired.

>

> According to statistics two elephants died in Palakkad in 2002, one near

> Walayar in 2006, one near Kanjikode in 2007 and four at Madukarai in 2008.

>

> Dr C K Sridharan, principal chief conservator of forests, Tamil Nadu;

> Winston Suiting, chief conservator of forests, Kerala; Y P Singh,

> divisional

> railway manager, Palakkad Division; and senior railway officials from

> Southern Railway attended the meeting.

>

>

[Guest guest]

True. There possibly wouldn't have been any of these worries, had there been

some conservation-oriented thinking before laying the tracks.

 

And yes, suggesting power-fencing (as if we haven't fragmented the habitat

enough) was absolutely ridiculous... but i can't help but be relieved that

it was the railways that suggested it (I guess... their concern would be to

just prevent accidents that disrupt rail movement) and not the other

authority.

 

Sheren.

 

 

 

On Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 5:09 PM, Pablo Tachil <pablo.groupswrote:

 

> Thanks for sharing this with us Sheren!

>

> All,

> I find it very funny when the railways and forest department come up with

> such gimmicks. Having had a fascination for elephants I would eagerly look

> at any print which has the photo of elephants. My earliest memories go back

> to the photo of I think a pair of elephants crushed in a tunnel by a train

> in Kerala. This must be in the late 1980s. From then to this date, the

> railways and forest department have only been 'discussing' what needs to be

> done.

>

> (1) Both railways and forest department do not refer the track laying

> process with any of the wildlife conservationists who understand that part

> of the jungle. Because of this mainly the tracks cut across elephant

> corridors where there is a high probability of elephant crossings.

>

> Having studied most of the tracks layed in Southern India and elephant

> herds in these areas, this I found was something that was unfortunately a

> common issue.

>

> Added to that (some points mentioned in the email below), sand mounds along

> tracks, food thrown by passengers, etc just compound the issue.

>

> THE FUNNIEST OF THE SUGGESTION IS POWER FENCING AND TRENCHES ALONG THE

> TRACKS. ITS LIKE ONE FINE DAY I COME HOME AND SEE A DRAINAGE ACROSS MY GATE

> NOT LETTING ME GET INTO MY HOUSE BECAUSE MY NEIGHBOUR HAS DECIDED TO DISPOSE

> HIS WASTE.

>

> when will these people understand that when we are exploiting their homes

> we should think atleast one sensible time before implementing things????????

>

>

> Pablo.

>

>

> On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 10:53 AM, sheren shrestha <sherensthawrote:

>

>>

>>

>> *

>>

>>

>>

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Chennai/Trust-to-come-up-with-steps\

-to-prevent-jumbo-deaths-on-tracks/articleshow/4827666.cms

>> *

>>

>> *Trust to come up with steps to prevent jumbo deaths on tracks*

>>

>> TNN 28 July 2009, 03:28am IST

>>

>> CHENNAI: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) will carry out a detailed study

>> and come out with short-term as well as long-term proposals that can be

>> studied and implemented by the railways and forest departments, to prevent

>> elephant deaths in Palakkad Division's Kanjikode-Madukkarai section. The

>> decision was taken on Monday by the railways and forest departments of

>> Tamil

>> Nadu and Kerala at a meeting chaired by V Carmelus, additional general

>> manager, Southern Railway.

>>

>> Since January, four elephants have died in the Kanjikode-Madukkarai

>> section

>> after being hit by speeding trains at night. " This is a big number. So, we

>> chaired the meeting with forest officials of both states to prevent

>> further

>> accidents, " said a senior railway official.

>>

>> WTI was chosen to conduct the study on a consultancy basis after the

>> institute's suggestions to the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand had

>> helped prevent elephant deaths since 2002. The situation was similar

>> there,

>> with the forest department of Uttarakhand and the North Frontier Railway

>> involved. The Trust has a Train Hits Mitigation project and is ready to

>> replicate it elsewhere.

>>

>> Southern Railway officials indicated that continuous sounding of the train

>> horn had been made compulsory on both 'A' and 'B' lines in the

>> Kanjikode-Madukkarai section and that public announcements were being made

>> to passengers not to throw food items on the track. The train speed has

>> been

>> reduced - from 110 kmph to 65 kmph; trials are on for further reduction of

>> speed. The railways has requested the forest department to provide power

>> fencing and trenches along the route.

>>

>> The forest department in turn has requested the railways to remove mounds

>> of

>> earth on both sides of the track for elephants to move away easily from

>> approaching trains. The railways contend that widening the area would be

>> difficult as it is rocky and 11 acres of land have to be acquired.

>>

>> According to statistics two elephants died in Palakkad in 2002, one near

>> Walayar in 2006, one near Kanjikode in 2007 and four at Madukarai in 2008.

>>

>> Dr C K Sridharan, principal chief conservator of forests, Tamil Nadu;

>> Winston Suiting, chief conservator of forests, Kerala; Y P Singh,

>> divisional

>> railway manager, Palakkad Division; and senior railway officials from

>> Southern Railway attended the meeting.

>>

>>