SUNDARBANS/GUWAHATI: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday said the Centre has sought a report on the death of elephants in a train collision in the Changjurai village of Assam’s Hojai district.
Talking to the press after meetings on Project Elephant and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) at the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, Yadav said, “All states have been asked to monitor elephant movement along railway tracks and coordinate with forest departments.”
Seven elephants died on the spot on Saturday after being hit by the Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Changjurai, while a calf injured in the accident succumbed to its injuries on Sunday.
The calf, barely a few days old, had been rushed to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation near the Kaziranga National Park with fractured legs and damaged internal organs. “The baby elephant was bleeding from the mouth. We could not save its life despite our best efforts,” said Bhaskar Choudhury, a veterinarian at the centre.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has told the state forest department to probe the matter.