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

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*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.