Forest dept inspect railway track to avert elephant deaths

COIMBATORE: A team of officials from the Forest Department on Wednesday inspected the railway line that passes through Madukkarai forest range to assess measures taken to prevent incidents of jumbo-train hits.

S Ramasubramanian, Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore circle, accompanied by other officials inspected the railway line near Solakarai in Madukkarai. The inspection comes in the wake of the death of a wild elephant after a hit by a train, while crossing the track along with its herd in Palakkad in Kerala a few days ago.

After an inspection, Ramasubramanian urged officials to ensure round the clock vigil along the vulnerable stretch. Also, the Kerala Forest Department has shared information on another missing calf elephant, which retreated into the forest with injuries suffered in train hit mishap.

Therefore, the Forest Department is maintaining a vigil to check if the injured elephant is moving over to the forest area in Tamil Nadu. “The vegetation along the tracks particularly in elephant crossing zones has been cleared to ensure better visibility for the loco pilots. Also, a 20-member team maintains constant vigil along the track to avert incidents of elephant hits,” said an official. As many as 11 elephants have been killed in train hits in Coimbatore since 2008.

Meanwhile, The Nilgiris Forest Department has slapped three persons, Abraham (58), Joseph (53) and Jacob (45) from Gudalur with a fine of Rs 20,000 each for attempting to poach wild animals in Gudalur. They were caught during a routine patrol by forest personnel early on Wednesday.