Northeast Frontier Railway sacrifices punctuality to avoid elephant deaths

  • | Thursday | 23rd February, 2017

The year before, five were killed in collision with moving trains; three of them died in Jorhat district's Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. "Along with joint patrolling by railway and forest staff, a WhatsApp group has been created to share information on a real-time basis. GUWAHATI: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said it had sacrificed punctuality on certain sections of Assam to avoid elephant-train collisions "Important trains like the Rajdhani and the Jan Shatabdi running between Guwahati and Furkating are taking about an hour more to reach their destinations. Seven elephants were killed in a train collision in Karbi Anglong and Deepor Beel areas in 2010. Train drivers and guards have also been sensitized on the importance of elephant conservation," Sharma said.Death of elephants due to collision with moving trains has been a matter of concern in Assam.

GUWAHATI: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said it had sacrificed punctuality on certain sections of Assam to avoid elephant-train collisions "Important trains like the Rajdhani and the Jan Shatabdi running between Guwahati and Furkating are taking about an hour more to reach their destinations. Freight trains are also getting delayed. Despite this, our utmost priority is reducing elephant mortality," NFR chief public relations officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said.Between September 27 and December 17 last year, at least seven elephants died in collision with trains. Even though these deaths occurred outside identified locations where elephants normally cross tracks, NFR said intensified patrolling and coordination with the forest department and wildlife NGOs could prevent more such mishaps.Sharma said 12 collisions had been averted in the past three months, four of them in January alone, because the railway control unit at Lumding received alerts on elephant movement. The unit, in turn, advised engine drivers to slow down. One forest official has also been deputed to the control room to assist in dissemination of information on elephant movement.According to the NFR, altogether 47 elephants were saved from colliding with moving trains between 2013 and 2016.A joint meeting between the district administration, forest department and railways on December 8 and December 20 decided to streamline information exchange at the field level."Along with joint patrolling by railway and forest staff, a WhatsApp group has been created to share information on a real-time basis. Contact numbers of station masters have been given to forest officials for speedy information exchange. Train drivers and guards have also been sensitized on the importance of elephant conservation," Sharma said.Death of elephants due to collision with moving trains has been a matter of concern in Assam. Experts said, over the years, elephants were also seen using new areas for movement across the tracks. They added that the animals get scattered and move on to new routes when they are chased by humans.Railway officials said most of the accidents in recent months occurred in places where there was no speed restriction for trains.In 2012, at least four elephants were run over by trains in different parts of Assam. The year before, five were killed in collision with moving trains; three of them died in Jorhat district's Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. Seven elephants were killed in a train collision in Karbi Anglong and Deepor Beel areas in 2010.

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