Assam: Rajdhani Express Mows Down Female Elephant, Calf

GUWAHATI: In another tragic incident reported from Jorhat in Assam, the Rajdhani Express hit a herd of elephants late at night. And the elephants were dragged about fifty meters down the track by the speeding train. The location of the accident has been reported to be near the Kharikatia railway station in Assam's Jorhat district. And the time was around 10:50 PM on Sunday night.

The female elephant has been reported to be about 20 years old while the calf has been reported to be around 10 months. Both of them received fatal head injuries in the accident and died within four hours.

Apparently, officials from the forest department of the state of Assam had informed the Northeast Frontier Railways about the presence of a herd of wild elephants in the region. And the request was sent to reduce the speed of the trains at around 8 PM. But no one paid any heed to the information and the Rajdhani Express continued at high speeds which lead to this incident about three hours later.

Meanwhile, representatives of the NFR said that the train was under the speed that was suggested by the forest department. Low visibility at that time of night has been said to be the main cause of the loco pilot's inability to prevent the accident. A distance of about 500 meters is necessary to stop a train in emergency situations mentioned by the officer.

An investigation has been started to find the root cause of this error and take necessary actions. In this year alone there have been six similar incidents and a total of 35 elephants have died in the region.

A wild elephant was killed by a cement- laden goods train near Hojai on September 8. In spite of the Forest department warning the Railways about the presence of elephants ahead, the train did not slow down although it is an animal corridor. Search for food has been the main cause of such accidents across the region.

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