Train mows down jumbos in south Bengal

MIDNAPORE/KOLKATA: Three elephants, including a two-yearold calf, were knocked down and killed by the Mumbai-bound Jnaneswari Express from Howrah at Dumuria between the Gidnih and Kanimahuli stations in West Midnapore early on Tuesday. The location is about 10 km from Jhargram. South Eastern Railway claimed that they had received no information of elephant movement and there was no speed restriction.

Though this is the first such incident on this section, it’s the second time that jumbos were run over by train in south Bengal in last two years. Three elephants were killed after being knocked down by Kharagpur-Adra Passenger near Bankura’s Bisnupur in August 2016.

“On Tuesday, the train was moving at a speed of 107 km/hr and the locomotive had its headlight on. The loco pilot spotted the two adults beside the tracks and applied emergency brakes but the two were hit by the locomotive and smashed into an overhead mast nearby. The impact was such that the mast nearly came crashing down and power supply to the overhead wires was disrupted. The calf may have been on the tracks and was run over,” Sanjoy Ghosh, CPRO, SER, said.

Basav Raj, DFO, Jhargram, said the 12-elephant herd from Mayurjharna has taken a new route. “Even we were not aware of their route.”. While the accident occurred around 1.30am, it was only around 5.25am that a diesel locomotive reached the spot to haul the stranded Jnaneswari Express towards Tatanagar. While services were maintained along Down line, Up line was restored around 9.45am.