An Asiatic lion was run over by a passenger train at Bhensavadi village on the Pipavav-Surendranagar railway line in Amreli Wednesday, marking the first lion casualty on the busy railway route this monsoon. The incident took place around 10:40 pm near the Lilia taluka when the Mahuva-Surat passenger train was on its way to Surat. The area falls in the Shetrunji wildlife division of Junagadh wildlife circle. “A pride of lions was crossing the railway track when the train arrived. While two to three other lions managed to cross the track, a male lion was hit by the train. The lion sustained injuries in the incident and succumbed,” said Aradhna Sahu, chief conservator of forests (CCF) of the Junagadh wildlife circle. Sahu said the other animals escaped unhurt. “However, this particular male lion was stuck under one of the coaches of the train and killed,” said Jayan Patel, deputy conservator of forests of Shetrunji division. This is the first lion casualty this monsoon on the railway line that connects the busy Pipavav port on Rajula coast of Amreli to the rest of India via Surendranagar. Dozens of goods trains ply on this track every day. After six lions were run over by trains between July last year and January this year, the railway had agreed to restrict the speed of the trains to 40 kms per hour in nine lion hotspot areas in Amreli district. “However, the incident took place 600 metres away from one such speed restricted section. The speed restriction applies between pillar No 27 and 28. The lion was run over at pillar No 28.6,” Patel said. Reacting to the issue, Rajan Joshi, a wildlife enthusiast, demanded that speed restrictions for trains be imposed between Lilia and Damnagar also. “There is a lot of lion movement in this section also and Wednesday's accident proves that the big cats are susceptible to accidents. To prevent lion deaths on railway tracks, speed limits for trains should be imposed on this section also,” said Joshi further.
