By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Worried over the killing of five wild elephants in the state by a speeding train last month, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday urged the central government to take steps to reduce the speed of the trains in all elephant crossing points.
In a letter to central Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, the chief minister said the spot in Ganjam district where the elephants were killed Dec 30, 2012 was an identified zone of frequent crossing of railway tracks by wild elephants.
“The accident occurred due to high speed of the train in spite of the cautionary signboards erected by the side of the railway track,” Patnaik has stated in the letter, released to the media here.
“This unfortunate tragedy could have been averted, had the speed of train been reduced by the railways,” Patnaik said.
“I would request you to kindly prevail upon the ministry of railways to ensure that speed restrictions are imposed on trains in the national park, sanctuaries, elephant reserves and major elephants crossing points,” he stated.
Patnaik has also asked railway authorities to revisit its advisories and instructions relating to prevention of train accidents involving elephants and to make appropriate amendments in consultation with wildlife experts and officials to prevent reoccurrence of such accidents.