Biswabrata Goswami
MIDNAPORE, 18 JULY: In a chilling reminder of the perils that stalk wildlife corridors crisscrossed by expanding infrastructure, three elephants — an adult and two calves — were mowed down by a speeding passenger train in the early hours of Friday near Banshtala railway gate under the South Eastern Railway zone in Jhargram district. The herd of ten was attempting to cross the tracks from the Manikpara range towards Sipaibandh when the Barbil-Howrah Janshatabdi Express (12022) came hurtling through, shattering the quiet of the forest and leaving death in its wake.
The collision, which occurred around 1 a.m, has reignited sharp criticism against railway authorities, as the forest department had sounded an alert hours earlier about elephant movement in the area. At 10:45 pm on Thursday, forest officials had cautioned the railways, advising them to slow down train speeds and sound horns at regular intervals. The warning, however, failed to translate into preventive action on the ground.
“We had explicitly informed the railways that elephants were on the move. Yet, there was no visible reduction in speed nor any attempt to avert this tragedy,” Jhargram Divisional Forest Officer Umar Imam told The Statesman. Following the incident, the forest department sought an immediate explanation from the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Kharagpur, regarding the identity of the train and the measures, if any, that were adopted after the alert.
Senior officials of the South Eastern Railway have admitted that an internal inquiry has been initiated. Nishant Kumar, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) of Kharagpur Division, said, “We are investigating the matter and verifying whether the forest department’s alert was communicated to the concerned railway personnel and whether action was taken accordingly.”
Forest and railway officials visited the accident site shortly after the incident. The mangled remains of the elephants lay strewn on the tracks until heavy cranes were brought in the morning to remove the carcasses. Train movement on the route, which had been suspended, resumed around 6:00 am after clearance.
Meanwhile, the surviving seven elephants of the herd have retreated into nearby forested areas. Forest personnel have ramped up surveillance to monitor their movements and ensure their safety. The region, home to around 30 elephants, forms a vital wildlife corridor where seasonal migrations frequently bring elephants in conflict with railway infrastructure — a conflict that has cost numerous elephant lives in recent years.
Despite several joint review meetings between the railways and the forest department, officials rue that the railways have failed to implement lasting mitigation measures. “Each time elephants die, there are talks of better coordination, but nothing concrete is done. It reflects a deep administrative indifference,” a senior forest official said.
The incident has also stoked anger among residents of Banshtala and adjoining areas, who often regard the elephants as integral to the cultural and ecological landscape of Junglemahal. “These elephants have lived with us for generations. To see them die like this, crushed under a train that could have been slowed down, is deeply painful and infuriating,” a villager said.
The forest department has once again reiterated the need for immediate and comprehensive interventions, including the enforcement of night-time speed restrictions in designated elephant corridors, installation of motion sensors and thermal imaging cameras along railway lines, real-time coordination between forest and railway control rooms, and sensitisation programmes for railway staff operating in wildlife-sensitive zones.
“We have written to the DRM asking for the list of trains that passed through the section between 10:30 pm and 1:00 am. Once we receive the full details, we will press for appropriate action. Accountability cannot be allowed to slip away,” DFO Imam added.
This latest incident comes at a time when The Statesman had earlier, on 6 July, reported on the surge in the elephant population across the Junglemahal districts, marking a 15 percent growth in eight years. While the rising numbers point to successful conservation, they also demand robust safeguards — a demand that remains largely unmet.
For the people of Jhargram, who have shared their forests with these majestic creatures for generations, the deaths of the three elephants are not just a loss of wildlife but a painful indictment of systemic failure.
