Extra vigil along tracks in Rourkela forest division  

ROURKELA: In the aftermath of elephant deaths due to train hit in adjacent Keonjhar, authorities of Rourkela forest division (RFD) in Sundargarh district have stepped up vigil to secure vulnerable crossing points on railway tracks. RFD authorities have reportedly given fresh instructions to field personnel to be more vigilant to avert possibility of similar mishaps in the division.

Extra focus is being put on the two most vulnerable railway track points at Mahipani in Bisra and Sonakhan in Rajgangpur range on the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line of South Eastern Railway (SER). These two points are frequently used by wild elephants to cross the tracks. Besides, some points of Rourkela-Barsuan rail route are used by elephant herds as passage. Incidentally in February 2021, two adult elephants were mowed down by a speeding train at Mahipani. 

Rourkela DFO Yeswant Sethi said the 1.3 km stretch on both sides of the tracks at Mahipani and Sonakhan were secured with solar fencing a few months back. For technical reasons, solar fencing could not be erected at the vulnerable points of Rourkela-Barsuan route. These points are under round-the-clock surveillance of field personnel in coordination with the two railway control rooms. 

The DFO further said forest employees deployed along the tracks have been given red lights. With permission of SER, they are using red signals to stop trains in the event of the control room failing to get timely information about movement of elephants. In December 2021, trains were stopped using red flashlights on at least two occasions after elephant herds got stranded on the tracks. Sources said a proposal of the Forest department to install sensor-based early warning system along the tracks at Mahipani has been shelved due to the cost factor.