ROURKELA/ SAMBALPUR: A five-year-old male elephant calf was killed after being hit by a goods train on the Rourkela-Bimlagarh line near Roxy of Barsuan range under the Bonai Forest Division (BFD) in Sundargarh district in the wee-hours of Sunday.
After the death of the baby elephant, the other elephants in the herd waited near the body for over five hours. The herd left the spot for around 9 am, only after forest authorities made loud noises.
Bonai divisional forest officer (DFO) Lalit Patra informed as per information provided by the local authorities of the South Eastern Railway (SER) the goods train moving towards Karampada hit the calf around 3.30 am leading to its death on the tracks. The train line is mostly used for transportation of minerals from the Koida Mining Circle in Sundargarh.
The DFO said there were nine elephants in the herd including two calves and one juvenile, adding caution order was given in advance to the SER authorities about movement of elephants. “An inquiry has been initiated to know the circumstances of the collision and if speed limit or other safety protocols were violated by the loco driver. A notice would also be issued to the concerned authorities of SER to cooperate in the investigation providing details about movement of the train including the train’s speed during the mishap,” he said.
The carcass was buried after autopsy by a veterinary team.
In another incident, a female elephant, aged around seven years died in Tamra forest in Gurundia block on the night of August 15. The DFO said after getting information about the elephant suffering from some ailments, a veterinary team provided necessary treatment, but the pachyderm died in the night. “The veterinary team concluded the elephant might have died of pneumonia, anemia, dehydration, weakness and septicemia due to a wound on the inner side of a front leg,” he added.
In Sambalpur district, an adult female elephant was electrocuted to death in a forest in Charadapasi village under Naktideul range of Rairakhol division on Sunday.
The incident took place when the elephant aged around 15 years, came in contact with an 11 KV wire hanging low in the forest. On being informed, forest officials from Rairakhol rushed to the spot, seized the carcass and sent it for autopsy.
Rairakhol DFO Arvind Mohanty said, “The elephant got electrocuted after its trunk came in contact with the cables. We will further inquire into the matter. The Electricity department has also been asked to conduct a probe into the incident.” Reportedly, the wire was hanging low for the last few days due to ongoing cable replacement work in the area. Whether the Electricity department was informed about it is still unknown. On the other hand, locals have alleged negligence and lack of monitoring by the Forest department and the Discom for the incident.
On July 4, a pregnant elephant aged around 15-17 years died due to electrocution after coming in contact with an electric trap laid for hunting wild boars at a farm in Jhankarbahali village under Sadar forest range in the district. Prior to that, on June 17 in a similar incident, a tusker had died of electrocution after coming in contact with a live wire after it strayed into Basiapada village under Jujumura forest range.