COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu Forest department will increase the number of field trackers in at Madukkarai forest range from nine to 25 to prevent elephant fatalities on railway tracks. This was decided in a meeting of officials from Palakkad railway division with Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Neeraj on Tuesday.
Neeraj said, “The field trackers will be equipped with night-vision binoculars, thermal sensor drones, etc. To facilitate enhanced visibility for loco pilots, a 15-m vista clearance will be created on both sides of the track. A decision to randomly engage forest watchers with loco pilots in train engines has also been arrived at.” These apart, setting up of a number of ‘go slow’ signal lights in stretches where animal crossing is frequent and installing speed monitoring guns around the signals were also planned, he said.
“We will convene monthly sensitisation and awareness programmes with loco pilots and assistants. We insisted on more frequent removal of garbage and food leftovers along the tracks which I had found in plenty during my inspections,” Neeraj said.
The Chief Wildlife Warden also revealed that they had decided to hold a joint field inspection before December 10 for locating sites requiring interventions such as additional speed-limit boards, ramps and solar lights along railway lines A and B. “We also explored possibilities of limiting train speed in these segments to below 35 kmph. Railways have assured of taking these suggestions to the concerned authorities for consideration,” he added.