West Bengal Tragedy: 3 Elephants, Including 2 Calves, Killed By Janshatabdi Express Despite Prior Alert In Paschim Midnapore

Three elephants, including two calves, were run over by an express train near Banstala railway station in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district, police said on Friday. The incident, which took place on Thursday night, occurred when an elephant herd that probably came from Jharkhand's Dalma forest was traversing, they said.

The three pachyderms were mowed on the tracks by a speeding Janshatabdi Express on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, a police officer said. It was difficult to go near the carcasses for some time, as the herd of 30 elephants was passing through the area, he said.

Chief Conservator of Forests S Kulandaive told PTI it was an unfortunate incident, and despite informing the Railways "three hours before the movement of the herd", the tragedy could not be averted.

"This is the common corridor of herds coming from the Dalma Forest range in Jharkhand to this part of West Bengal, and as per the standard protocol, a group of forest and railway officials monitor the situation so that no mishaps occur. The divisional forest officer and other senior officials have inspected the spot, and we will initiate every step to stop the recurrence of such incidents," he said.

Another forest official said the carcasses were lying scattered at the spot, which indicates that after being initially struck by a train, at least one of the three jumbos was hit and dragged by another train on the same track or the adjacent one.

Kulandaive said apart from strengthening coordination with the railways, the forest department has been involving locals who are conversant with the movement of herds in the belt, and can play a proactive role to save wildlife in the area.

To another query, Kulandaive said there is a need for setting up more elephant sanctuaries like the one in Barjora, Bankura, which houses a herd of around 70 jumbos in a 35-sq km area having trees like banyan and jackfruit and napier grass."We are mulling steps to set up more such sanctuaries so that the jumbos don't feel the need to step out," he added.