Elephant hit by train, injured

JALPAIGURI: In yet another incident involving jumbos on the Alipurduar Junction - New Jalpaiguri railway track, an adult cow elephant was badly injured when it was hit by a train near the Red Bank tea estate at Banerhat in the Dooars in Jalpaiguri district . The incident happened on Saturday at 10 pm.

A herd of elephants was crossing the tracks on the outskirts of Dyna forest when the train from Alipurduar to Asansol hit the jumbo. The elephant was dragged 200 meters before the engine's cow catcher tossed it off the tracks. Though the animal is alive, animal lovers are praying for its death to put an end to its severe pain due to a shattered backbone.

"We have put all efforts to treat the animal. Its backbone is badly broken and it is slowly creeping towards death. We will be really delighted if a miracle can save it," said Sumita Ghatak, DFO, Wild Life II, Jalpaiguri division.

This 168-km stretch, on an average, takes the toll of five elephants every year and injures scores of other animals. In September last year, seven elephants were mowed down in an incident at this site. In another incident in November, a 10-ft tall n adult tusker was fatally wounded by a goods train in the Mahananda wildlife sanctuary between Gulma and Sevoke.

Naturist organizations and environmentalist have requested the Railways and departments concerned to stop running trains on this track during night hours and double the line (that passes through Jalpaiguri and Falakata) to minimize traffic on the Dooars track. "We suggested that if the trains run on a track parallel to this line, the conflict would minimize. But the Railways refused citing the reason that that the parallel line will not be able to take the load of trains that runs to and from Guwahati," said Animesh Basu, coordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

"The most tragic part of this is that the political parties are very much indifferent to the issue as the victims are not voters," he added.

Meanwhile, the forest department has started an extensive search operation in the adjacent areas to trace if any other elephant of the herd was injured on Saturday night. They have lodged a complaint with the Banerhat police station.

The rail line through the Dooars might have proved a boon for the area residents, but it has turned to be a curse for the wild lives. When this track was being converted into broad gauge in 2002, nature lovers had protested. The WWF had also filed a case in the Calcutta high court. But the court had given the permission and asked the railways to follow certain directives so that the line did not prove fatal for the animals. But the norms are hardly followed.

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