Biodiversity conservation body expresses grief at hitting of elephant herd by Rajdhani Express train

Aaranyak, a leading biodiversity conservation organisation, expressed grief at the recent hitting of a herd of elephants in Jorhat by the Rajdhani Express train on Sunday.

The incident of Delhi-bound Rajdhani express hitting a herd of elephants in Jorhat district of Assam on Sunday night has saddened conservationists and local people.

The state of Assam with an estimated wild elephant population of approximately 5719, accounts for substantial unnatural elephant mortality as a result of train hits, preceded only by elephant electrocution.

"Aaranyak strongly urges the Indian Railways to look into the matter and act immediately in addressing the issue and curtail down on elephant-train collision," stated in a release.

"Aaranyak demands that the Railways should look into the matter and come-up with short term mitigation measures and longterm solutions to safeguard our heritage animal," stated further.

Aaranyak also demanded that the conservation costs must be prioritised while planning for developmental projects such as linear infrastructure and other land-use changes.

"The Government Line Departments must work in tandem to achieve this holistic goal. Aaranyak is working tirelessly to safeguard elephants, protect biodiversity of the region and thereby ensure human well-being too," stated in release.

The areas with highest train-elephant hits occurrence are in Kampur-Hojai-Diphu-Mariani, as per a recent study.

Reports indicate that between 1990 and 2018, a total of 115 elephants died in Assam due to train hits alone.

( With inputs from ANI )