Kerala to check death of jumbos on tracks

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With 17 jumbos being killed on the tracks between Palakkad and Coimbatore in the last three years, Kerala has asked Railways to put in place effective safety measures to check such incidents.

Citing the recent case of three elephants being fatally run over by a train in the area, Kerala Forest Minister Benoy Viswam had asked Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to take urgent steps to avoid such tragedies in the future.

In a letter to Yadav, Viswam said as many as 17 elephants had been killed on tracks in the area in the last three years and deaths of other animals like deer were also reported.

Most of the accidents had happened due to animals getting trapped in the rock-cut tunnels through which part of the track passed.

The animals, which stray into the track from adjoining forests, find it difficult to escape when the trains pass by the tracks. This could be avoided to an extent by limiting the speed of trains to 50 km per hour at least in the 10 km stretch in the sector, Viswam said.

Also, certain restrictions could be enforced in movement of trains through one of the two lines in the sector.

Passengers should also be sensitised at Palakkad and Coimbatore stations against throwing pollutants like plastic articles while trains are passing through the forest stretch. Also, the engine drivers should be instructed to sound horns while running the train along the sensitive stretch, he said.