Tusker hit by goods train

“The limb operation will be done,but the operation of the tusk is a complicated one,” said S Patel,Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife),North Bengal. “The elephant being a tusker,we are not sure whether it will cooperate even after tranquilisation.”

Two female elephants will be brought from Gorumara Wildlife Sanctuary,after which the officials hope they will be able to conduct the surgery.

Patel said though the Railways have issued circulars asking drivers to maintain a speed limit of 35 km per hour in elephant corridors,the rule is flouted frequently as there is nobody to keep watch.

“The authorities concerned will look into the matter to find out whether the driver was following speed limit,” he said.

Instances of pachyderms being hit by speeding trains has become a regular feature in north Bengal.

On September 22,seven elephants — three of them females,three calves and a tusker — were mowed down by a speeding train near the Kalibari railway crossing between Banarhat and Binnaguri. The herd of 15 elephants was crossing the railway tracks on their way to Diana forest from Moraghat forest.