Speeding train killed six wild elephants in Assam
Tezpur
A speeding train killed at least six wild elephants at Balipara in Sonitpur district of Assam in early hours of Sunday. The accident resulted in disruption of rail communication along the track for till 6 on Sunday morning. Officials of Northeast Frontier Railway ( NFR ) confirmed the incident.
According to NFR Officials , the incident happened when Guwahati-Naharlagun (Arunachal Pradesh) Inter-city Express was passing through Bamgaon area at Balipara. Six elephants including a pregnant one were mowed down as the herd was crossing the track.
“The notified elephant corridors are at km 131 and km 144. So the accident happened at a non-notified area,” an official added.
It must be mention here that Two elephants were killed after being hit by speeding train near Thakurkuchi railwat station located close to Guwahati on November 19.
“It is a shame for a state like Assam where 40 elephants have died unnaturally in the last 100 days,” said Bibhab Talukdar of wildlife NGO Aaranyak.
Several wildlife NGOs also demanded immediate intervention of the Assam government to stop such tragedy on tracks and requested the Assam Forest Department and the NF Railways to light up the tracks like highways and install warning systems and enforce speed limits immediately
