Killing of elephants in elephant corridors in train accidents concerns wild life conservationists

The number of wild elephants in Uttarakhand is decreasing day by day and the basic reason behind this lessoning of elephant numbers is their killing in the official elephant corridors by train accidents.

The forest department of Uttarakhand is once again under question after the rampant incidents of brutal human killings by maneaters and killings of elephants going side by side in official elephant corridors with no role of the department in avoiding these dreaded incidents. Just a day ago an elephant has been killed in a train accident in the elephant corridor in the Tanda Forest area about sixty kilometres away from Nainital .

Just about two months ago a male elephant has been killed in an accident in the same train corridor sending shock waves amongst the animal loving fraternity of the state. It may be recalled that the Tanda Forest area is directly connected with the Ram Nagar Corbett . The elephant’ groups (JHUND) prevalent in Jim Corbett area usually use the Tanda forest corridor and pass near by Bindukhaata jungle Areas to reach Gaulapaar areas in Kumaon Uttarakhand.

The elephant being the animal covering long distances inside forests sometimes come on railway lines and get cut/ killed in accidents of speeding trains and this is what has been taking place for the last several months. These elephants also cross jungles to eat the crops in agricultural fields.

The female elephant who was killed by train accident near Central Medicine Plants Institution near Haldwani was also intending to go to agricultural fields to eat crops but got cut in a speeding train accident.

What is highly shocking about this whole episode is that just in a years’ time about five elephants have been killed through train accidents. The forest department has no solution to these increasing incidents of train accidents killing elephants in prescribed elephant corridors and not a single erring train driver has been punished till date as well.

Meanwhile, the incidents of attacks of man eater leopards are still on the rise in various parts of Uttarakhand. Just yesterday in Pirumadaar, near Ram Nagar, Uttarakhand a mentally retarded man was brutalLy attacked by a leopard near the MAAJAAR OF A MUSLIM SAINT namely Nathapir who was later on addmitted to the local hospital with grievous injuries.

Just three days ago a 65 year old man was brutally killed by a man eater in Chowbattakhal area of Pauri Garhwal, killing him on the spot near a roadside bus shed with half of his dead body literally torned and mutilated profusely bleeding. The incidents of man eater attacks are rapidly increasing in Uttarakhand and the incessant killing of elephants in train accidents in elephant corridors is also a matter of immense concern for the wild life conservationists and the forest department of Uttarakhand.