3.March, 2008

The Elephant population in India increasingly finds itself under siege from a number of threats. The most cited and documented reasons for the high Elephant mortality rates are poaching, electrocution, and retaliatory killings as a result of human-wildlife conflict. In addition to this, the one other serious threat that has been highlighted only over the last few years is Elephant deaths due to train hits. India has a vast network of railways lines dissecting crucial and fragile Elephant habitats, affecting mainly the Terai Belt, North Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, and sections of the Nilgiri Biosphere that includes Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Incidences of Elephants being mowed down by speeding trains have seen an escalation over the last couple of years. There exists no concrete national policy or guidelines governing the construction or movement of trains through forested areas. There are some rudimentary laws in place like speed limitations that trains have to follow on certain routes, but these are often blatantly flouted. In addition to this there has not been an adequate effort on the part of the government to address the issue and create a specific framework under which the railways can operate in such conditions. The recent incident in which a herd comprising of three tuskers were hit and killed on the Coimbatore-Palakkad Railway line only serves to highlight the lack of preparedness and responsibility of the Railways.

For further information please follow the link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/356770254