186 elephants killed on railway tracks in over 10 years: MoEFCC

A complete of 186 elephants had been killed after being hit by trains throughout India between 2009-10 and 2020-21, in keeping with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India.

As per the information furnished by the Project Elephant Division of the Ministry, Assam accounted for the very best variety of elephant casualties on railway tracks (62), adopted by West Bengal (57), and Odisha (27). Uttar Pradesh noticed a single dying.

Trains claimed the very best variety of pachyderms in 2012-13, when 27 elephants had been killed in 10 States as per the information accessed by activist R. Pandiyaraja from Tenkasi district in Tamil Nadu by means of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

K. Muthamizh Selvan, Scientist ‘D’ and Central Public Information Officer (Project Elephant), mentioned in the RTI reply that numerous measures had been taken to keep away from elephant casualties on railway traces.

According to the Ministry, a Permanent Coordination Committee has been constituted between the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) and the MoEFCC for stopping elephant deaths in practice accidents.

The formation of coordination committees of officers of Indian Railways and State Forest Departments; clearing of vegetation alongside railway tracks to allow clear view for loco pilots; signage boards at appropriate factors to alert loco pilots about elephant presence; moderating slopes of elevated sections of railway tracks; underpass/overpass for protected passage of elephants; regulation of practice pace from sundown to dawn in weak stretches; and common patrolling of weak stretches of railway tracks by frontline workers of the Forest Department and wildlife watchers, had been amongst different initiatives the Ministry had undertaken.

The MoEFCC additionally acknowledged that it launched ₹212.49 crore to elephant vary States below Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of Project Elephant to guard elephants, their habitat and corridors, to handle problems with man-elephant battle and welfare of captive elephants, between 2011-12 and 2020-21. Kerala stood on the high in getting CSS funds of ₹35.39 crore through the interval. Punjab obtained the bottom of the funds — ₹ 1.82 lakh, mentioned the RTI doc.