The Bhavnagar division of Western Railway (WR), in an attempt to improve public perception about efforts made to save lions from gnarly deaths due to collision with trains, issued a statement on Saturday saying that eight lions had been saved in the last one week due to the vigilance and actions taken by loco pilots. The statement comes in light of the Gujarat High Court repeatedly rebuking officials over lions being run down by trains passing through their habitat in the south Saurashtra and the lack of safety measures. The Bhavnagar division, in a statement, said that loco pilots are operating the trains within the speed prescribed by the division and working with extra caution. "Due to the vigilance of pilots of the Bhavnagar Railway Division, eight lions have been saved in the last one week and a total of 42 lions have been saved since April," said the statement. It quoted Bhavnagar Division Senior DCM Mashook Ahmad as saying, "On August 16, loco pilot Sanjay Ram, while operating a goods train PPSP-MSIV on Gadhakada-Savarkundla section, saw one lion crossing the track and stopped the train by applying emergency brake. After that, only when forest department officials Jaideepbhai and Ansar Saira reached the spot and informed that the track was clear, that the train was restarted and reached its destination." He went on to give similar examples about how loco pilots stopped the trains before they hit five lions and cubs on the tracks on August 14 and 15. The statement did not provide details about the two other lions saved in the last one week. The HC, on August 9, had pulled up the Railways on two recent incidents of lion deaths on tracks within a week. While the carcasses of a lioness and two cubs were found on July 18, one lion died and another was critically injured after train collision on July 24-25. The court had issued a showcause notice to the chief conservator of forests (Wildlife Division) in Junagadh in this matter. The next hearing is scheduled for August 30.
