E-Paper
Uttarakhand: Loco pilot booked for death of two elephants in train hit incident
A female elephant and a calf were killed on Wednesday after being hit by a train on Lalkuan-Kashipur route.
Uttarakhand forest officials have booked a loco pilot for the death of two elephants in a train hit incident on Wednesday, officials said.
“We have booked loco pilot of the train for the death of two elephants on Wednesday. We will ensure such incidents don’t happen in the future,” said Dhurb Singh Martolia, sub-divisional officer, Terai-central forest division in Kumaon.
A female elephant and a calf were killed on Wednesday after being hit by a train on Lalkuan-Kashipur route. Railway traffic was disrupted for 5 hours after the incident due to furious elephants.
The forest department has booked Vijay Chand, loco pilot of the train under Wildlife Protection Act, Martolia said.
He said joint patrol will be conducted by forest and railway officials at night to avoid such incidents in the future. “Besides this, the forest department has received a letter from divisional railway manager (DRM), Bareilly about the fixation of the speed limit of the train plying in the region,” he said.
Martolia said, “Joint patrolling of forest and railway officials will be conducted at night to avoid such incidents. Besides this, trains will ply at the speed of 30-km/hour at night and 50 km/hour during the day.”
In August 2018, while expressing serious concern over the death of elephants in train hit incidents, Uttarakhand high court had directed the union railway ministry to construct underpasses in the identified elephant corridors in the state and ensured that the speed of the trains should be the lowest possible while they are passing through elephant corridors in the state.
The court had given these directions while hearing public interest litigation regarding encroachments around Corbett Tiger Reserve. The HC had also directed the forest department to coordinate with the railway department through wireless and having an animal tracking system in place to ensure wild animals are not killed in rail hits. The division bench also remarked that officials should have compassion while dealing with matters related to the wildlife in the state.
