COIMBATORE: After a video of an elephant herd negotiating its way through the train tracks at the Hillgrove railway station went viral, railway officials demolished a portion of the wall parallel to the tracks on Thursday. Activists lauded staff of the Salem Division of the SR for swift action.
Activists urged the railways to construct wildlife-friendly railway stations near forest regions. Additional Chief Secretary of Environment, Climate Change & Forests Supriya Sahu also expressed her concern over such walls hindering the wildlife movement on Twitter.
Coonoor Railway Station Director Sathish Saravanan said, “Around 20 metres of the wall at the Hillgrove station will be demolished making way for elephant crossing.”
An 18-year-old tusker was found dead in the Anchetti forest range in Krishnagiri on Wednesday. The cause of the death will be known after autopsy, said DFO Karthikeyan.