Protecting the pachyderms

They lumber about freely in herds, trumpeting their presence and trampling any living creature big or small which may have the courage to stand in their path. Yet a seven-member committee has been formed to devise ways to protect the north Bengal elephant herds, a senior state forest department official said.
The committee comprising Mr B Sukumar, noted Asian elephant expert along with senior railway officials and director of Project Elephant will soon make a field trip, it was learnt. The formation of this committee by the Union ministry of Environment and Forests is no overnight decision.
The death of almost 10 elephants in train accidents over the past two years have triggered the committee's existence. Restriction of train speed along with a host of other measures have been recommended by the WWF-India's state wing.
Cutting through Mahananda, Chapramara and Jadapara, the three sanctuaries where the elephant herds roam, the railway tracks pass from east to west through these forest tracts as well as buffer zones. The railway tracks often pass through the migration routes of the pachyderms who are sometimes mowed down by the iron horse running too fast for the beasts to move away from its path.
The speed of trains passing through elephant country should be lowered between 25 to 30 kilometres per hour, Mr Kisor Choudhury, Fellow, Royal Geographical Society said, welcoming the committee's formation. Reducing the speed of trains has cut down accidents involving elephants and other creatures in Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand, Porahat and Saranda forest divisions in Jharkhand and Barwadi and Chipadohor within the Palamau Tiger reserve in the same state. The trains should blow whistles at regular intervals, he said.

Courtesy: The Statesman

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