At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services.
The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.
The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi).
Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-
• 0361-2731621
• 0361-2731622
• 0361-2731623
The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.
Train Services Disrupted
Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.
Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.
The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.
Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30.
The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks.
Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years
At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.
He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.
Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.
The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.
These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.
The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.
Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.
A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.
Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested.
Comments
We don't want any yoga or peega
If the PM could tweet on the thumb injury of Shikhar Dhawan, the dinner he hosted for MPs and on the Yoga Day, should he have also tweeted to voice his concern at deaths in Muzaffarpur?
His government Ayushman plan covering upto 5 lakh seems got out of the air, like the rest of the plan.
Prime Minister is aware of small things, but in Bihar the death of children is a blow which is probably not known to him. It is true that children's don't have the right to vote!
Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan's injuries will be cured but those 115 children who have gone in the absence of treatment will never come back. At least Modiji should have wrote two words for them too.
Yoga cannot correct - GDP, unemployment among the youth, farmers' distress and children's deaths.
Bihar has given 39 seats and in that Bihar more than 150 children are killed, and the Prime Minister of this country enjoys Yoga-Boga.
PM Modi or his team tweeted or said a single word for 100+ kids who lost their lives due to Encephalitis in Muzaffarpur.
1.Why hisgovt have not taken any action on that issue 5 years in Centre & 13 years in State government?
2. Why did Health Sector is facing so many problems in Bihar?
3. Is Ayushman Bharath considered failure?
Jai Hind
Yoga is above some ones mother and wife. Totally yoga a topic for some ones drama baaji n for some one's July baajI and their listeners are only paid chaddi daari
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