Agartala, Feb 10 (PTI) A male elephant died after being hit by a speeding train in Tripura’s Khowai district on Saturday, a forest official said.
The incident took place when a herd of around 30 elephants was moving along the Mugiakami-Teliamura elephant corridor.
“An Agartala-bound train coming from Ambassa hit one of the elephants on Saturday morning and dragged it for around 50 metres till DM Colony area, where it died,” Khowai Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Akshay B Bhorde told PTI.
A post-mortem examination was conducted and the body was buried, he said.
It was concerning to find plastic bottles, cups and bags inside the stomach of the pachyderm, he said.
When the railway track was laid through the elephant corridor in 2008, no underpasses were built which flouts the basic guidelines of the Forest and Environment Ministry, the official said.
“Had underpasses been built during the track-laying process, the elephant’s death could have been avoided because Mugiakami-Teliamura has been a designated elephant corridor for a long time. Besides, trains usually run at lower speeds when they pass through protected areas but that was not followed in this case,” he said.
Bhorde said he has spoken to the Lunding Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) about the incident and requested him to ask loco pilots to run trains passing through protected areas at 20-30 km per hour for the safety of wild animals.
“We will hold a meeting with the railway officials to raise these issues,” he added. PTI PS ACD
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