JAIPUR: A busy railway line that passes through the Jawai Bandh Leopard Conservation Reserve in Pali district of Rajasthan has turned into a death trap for endangered wildlife.
On Monday, a four-year-old female hyena was found dead after it was hit by a speeding train near Kotar region of the reserve.
"As per the preliminary report, the hyena was eating the carcass of a cow lying on the railway track near Kotar when it was hit by a train at night," a forest official told TOI.
Scores of leopards, sloth bear and cattle have been killed over the past few years in Jawai area after the railways increased the frequency of passenger trains.
The local Rebari community and villagers say that cattle and wildlife in the area are exposed to danger caused by speeding trains. "The reserve falls on the busy Delhi-Mumbai railway route and a train passes every 15 minutes. There are over 60 leopards in the reserve, and five in Kotar region where the body of the hyena was found," said villager Sarwan Dewasi.
Though conservationists have suggested many measures to prevent accidents in the reserve, none of them have been implemented so far.
Shatrunjay Singh, a wildlife enthusiast and conservationist, said, "We had proposed fencing the railway track on the 30km stretch between Perwa and Malani. The issue is serious as trains pass through the core area, which is home to leopards."
But further endangering wildlife in the area, the railways is currently implementing track doubling work along the stretch for the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor. It has already started work for the same in Jawai. While underpasses have been designed along the route, local residents say they are not enough to stop such accidents.
"The number of underpasses that have been constructed is not sufficient. Moreover, the design is faulty as these are too small for shepherds with big herds of cattle to cross. Instead, they cross the railway tracks above, resulting in accidents. There is an urgent need to take this issue up immediately to reduce cattle and wildlife mortality caused by trains," said Fakira Ram Rebari, a local resident.
On Monday, a four-year-old female hyena was found dead after it was hit by a speeding train near Kotar region of the reserve.
"As per the preliminary report, the hyena was eating the carcass of a cow lying on the railway track near Kotar when it was hit by a train at night," a forest official told TOI.
Scores of leopards, sloth bear and cattle have been killed over the past few years in Jawai area after the railways increased the frequency of passenger trains.
The local Rebari community and villagers say that cattle and wildlife in the area are exposed to danger caused by speeding trains. "The reserve falls on the busy Delhi-Mumbai railway route and a train passes every 15 minutes. There are over 60 leopards in the reserve, and five in Kotar region where the body of the hyena was found," said villager Sarwan Dewasi.
Though conservationists have suggested many measures to prevent accidents in the reserve, none of them have been implemented so far.
Shatrunjay Singh, a wildlife enthusiast and conservationist, said, "We had proposed fencing the railway track on the 30km stretch between Perwa and Malani. The issue is serious as trains pass through the core area, which is home to leopards."
But further endangering wildlife in the area, the railways is currently implementing track doubling work along the stretch for the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor. It has already started work for the same in Jawai. While underpasses have been designed along the route, local residents say they are not enough to stop such accidents.
"The number of underpasses that have been constructed is not sufficient. Moreover, the design is faulty as these are too small for shepherds with big herds of cattle to cross. Instead, they cross the railway tracks above, resulting in accidents. There is an urgent need to take this issue up immediately to reduce cattle and wildlife mortality caused by trains," said Fakira Ram Rebari, a local resident.
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