Guwahati (Assam): A recently-initiated project to ‘mitigate elephant mortality due to train accidents’ in Assam looks likely to be sped up following the death of a pregnant feral elephant, hit by a goods train just outside Guwahati, along the track connecting Azara to Kamakhya, yesterday. 

An initiative of the Wildlife Trust of India, the project is funded by the Elephant Family- an organisation dedicated to conservation and welfare of wild as well as domestic Asian elephants, and supported by the Assam Forest Department and the Northeast Frontier Railway. It aims to identify accident-prone sections along the railway network in Assam, and formulate and implement site-specific accident preventive measures.

“The accident occurred on Wednesday night while the elephant was trying to cross the track near Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site, and got trapped between steep embankments on either side of the track. Elephants from Rani Garhbhanga Reserve Forest cross this track to reach the natural catchment Deepor Beel, for water or to raid crops in the human settlements along the hill on the eastern side of the track,” said Anil Kumar Singh, Coordinator, WTI.

The elephant succumbed to its injuries a day after the accident. Concerned by the accident, project implementers have expressed the need for early execution of prevention measures.

“Eventually, the steep embankments (blamed for this accident) may have to be flattened. For now, we are trying to begin patrolling immediately, as a temporary measure to avert accidents,” Singh said.

The death of the pregnant elephant and its unborn male calf drew sympathy and protests from local people; they blocked the track for about three hours today. While such strong reaction and involvement from local people is not very common, elephant deaths along railway tracks is unfortunately quite a frequent occurence.

About 28 elephant deaths on railway tracks were recorded in Assam over a period of just eight years, beginning in 1998. Alarmed by the number, WTI and its partner the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) had conducted a rapid field survey in 2006 to help identify and mitigate the problem. This survey had also identified Deepor Beel as a vulnerable spot.

A few months ago, as a follow-up to this earlier WTI-IFAW study, WTI initiated the long-term project in Assam in association with the Elephant Family, and the local forest and railway authorities to replicate the success of its much acclaimed project in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand.

“Working in collaboration with the Forest Department and the Northern Railways, since 2002, we have been able to ensure zero deaths of elephants due to train hits along the railway track passing through Rajaji National Park, we would now like to implement this in Assam” said Singh.

“The identification of accident-prone sites along the railway network in Assam is near completion. Unlike other elephant-bearing states, the problem here is spread widely across the state. So while this work goes on, we want to begin with the general methods of accident prevention,” said Singh.