Report on elephant deaths on railway lines submitted, says Union Minister

Panel has made recommendations for preventing such incidents, Bhupender Yadav tells Pollachi MP Shanmugasundaram

A total of 11 wild elephants were killed on the railway line between Kanjikode and Madukkarai stations from 2016 to 2021.

The committee tasked by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to study deaths of wild elephants on railway tracks near Coimbatore submitted its report in September 2021, said Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in a letter to Pollachi MP K. Shanmugasundaram.

The committee's report has suggested recommendations to the Railways, State Forest Departments (SFDs) of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to prevent death of elephants due to train hits. The report has been circulated to the SFDs, Railways and other stakeholders to take measures to prevent death of elephants, the Minister's letter said.

Mr. Shanmugasundaram had written to Mr. Yadav seeking to know the measures taken by the Ministry to prevent deaths of elephants on railways tracks.

A total of 11 wild elephants were killed on the railway line between Kanjikode and Madukkarai stations on the Palakkad-Walayar-Coimbatore segment from 2016 to 2021, including three pachyderms that were knocked down by a train on November 26, 2021.