Speeding train mows down six elephants near Berhampur in Ganjam

Six elephants, including a tusker and three females, were mowed down by the speeding Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express near Berhampur in Ganjam district. A train attendant also died in the accident, which has triggered a blame-game between the state government and the railway authorities.

While forest officials said the accident took place because their advise to the railway authorities to check the train’s speed was ignored, railway officials said the information reached them a little too late. They said the mishap had occurred at the exact time when they were informed about the movement of the elephants.

Source: The Telegraph

The accident occurred near Subalaya railway level crossing between Rambha and Humma stations in Ganjam district, about 40km from Berhampur. One of the elephants that died was pregnant with a two-month-old baby inside her. The foetus died as well.

A train attendant, Ranjit Jena, 24, a contractual employee, was also killed.

“The train was unstable for about a few minutes after the impact. Ranjit might have opened the door of the coach to check the matter and may have been thrown off the train. We found his body near the tracks,” said Ajaya Kumar Jena, the deceased’s cousin, also an attendant on the same train.

“The tusker that died in the accident was about 25-30 years old. There were two baby elephants and three females in the age group of 45-47 years. The pregnant elephant was dragged by the train for almost half-a-kilometre,” said Khallikote forest division ranger Bijaya Kumar Hota.

“The speed of the Coromandel Express was 110kmph when the accident took place,” said Sudhansu Mishra, divisional forest officer of Berhampur, who, along with the senior forest officers, reached the accident spot. “Railway tracks cutting through migration corridors are to blame for the accident. This is one of the most perilous tracks for wild elephants. We have put up 10 signboards saying ‘Elephant Crossing Zone’ along the railway tracks to caution train drivers and remind them to move the train slowly. They are supposed to run the train at 20kmph in this zone. But the Coromandel Express was running at 110kmph when the accident took place,” he said.

“The ranger of Chilika wild life division P.C. Guru informed the railway control room about the movement of the elephants in the area on Saturday night before the accident and requested the authorities to instruct the drivers of all the trains to move slowly,” he said. “It clearly shows that the railways are at fault and we have initiated steps to arrest the erring driver of the train,” Mishra said.

However, railway officials claimed that the Coromandel Express had already left Khurda when the message came. Chief public relations officer of East Coast Railway R.N. Mohapatra said: “We received the information at 12.43am when the accident had already taken place.”

The state forest officials have buried the dead elephants after conducting post-mortems on the spot. Forests and environment minister Bijoyshree Routray said: “If the railway authorities don’t comply with our directions, we will take up the issue with the chief minister. And he will write a strong letter to the Centre on this issue.” “We will hold a meeting tomorrow with the railway authorities,” she said.

Source: The Telegraph