Last week’s tragic death of seven wild elephants after being hit by a speeding train in Assam has once again brought to focus the status of wildlife and forests in the state. While there is a general tendency to blame the railways for such tragic incidents, the ground reality is that natural habitats and traditional migratory routes of the elephants have been rapidly shrinking and getting fragmented in recent decades. Rampant encroachment in the state’s reserve forests and wildlife sanctuaries and large-scale felling of trees have been happening under the very nose of the concerned authorities. Though the present government has made a sincere effort to evict encroachers from reserve forests and sanctuaries, more action is needed to ensure that the current trend of deforestation is urgently arrested. Similarly, it is also important to ensure that animal corridors remain undisturbed. Fragmentation of natural habitats and traditional migratory routes because of expanding human infrastructure has forced elephants to move around in search of food, and crossing railway tracks, particularly during the paddy ripening season, has become a common phenomenon. While the Northeast Frontier Railway authorities have employed several special measures to reduce train-elephant collisions to the lowest minimum, there appears to be a serious lack of coordination between the railways on one side and the civil and forest authorities on the other. The civil administration has a major role to play by way of facilitating increased information sharing between the forest and railway authorities by particularly involving the local population. Trains often pass through identified elephant corridors or movement zones at high speeds, making it impossible for drivers to stop in time, even after deploying emergency brakes. It is high time the construction of underpasses, overpasses, and earthen ramps at identified crossing points was taken up to facilitate safe movement of elephants as well as railway trains in the vulnerable areas. Elephants have to be protected at any cost, and every government agency has a crucial role to play in this respect. The issue underscores a critical need for stronger political will, effective on-ground execution, and comprehensive land-use planning that respects essential wildlife corridors to achieve a sustainable balance between development and conservation in Assam.