RANCHI: The death of three wild elephants, struck by a speeding Janshatabdi Express near Bastola railway station in West Bengal close to the Jharkhand border, has sparked a blame game between the Indian Railways and the Forest Department.A herd of seven elephants was crossing the track when the train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar railway section early in the morning on Saturday, rammed the three elephants, killing them on the spot, while four others got stuck near the ones who died. The elephants supposedly came from the Jhargram forest in West Bengal’s Kharagpur.The collision occurred on the busy Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, a corridor often used by wild elephants migrating across forested landscapes in Bengal and neighbouring Jharkhand. This incident is not a one-off, as several cases have been reported from many states where elephants died while crossing railway tracks.Though, Railways is deeply concerned about this tragic loss of wildlife and expresses its sincere sympathy, it refused to take any responsibility for the incident.“We have noted with concern certain statements made by the Forest Department alleging that prior information about elephant movement in the area had been communicated to the Railways, but not acted upon. The above version is not factually correct and misleading. No official communication was given by Forest Authorities either in writing or telephonically to the concerned railway authorities about the movement of elephant herds,” stated an official communique from the Indian Railways.
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