Jamshedpur: Underpass planned to safeguard elephants from trains

Mail News Service

Chakulia, Feb 16: The movement of elephants has seen a significant rise in the Chakulia forest area over the past few years. Responding to reports of elephant herds frequently venturing out of the forest and crossing railway tracks, a joint team comprising members from the Wildlife Institute of India, railway officials, and forest department officials visited the elephant corridor site on Friday. The inspection focused on the elephant movement point between Kahani Mohali Hot and Kokapara station on the Jharkhand border.

Jahidul Hussain, a member of the Wildlife Institute of India, mentioned that they have a map indicating the points where elephants cross the railway track. The team, including department officials, conducted a detailed inspection to determine suitable locations for constructing an underpass or overpass to ensure safe elephant crossings. A report will be submitted to senior officials based on the findings. The inspection team included Railway RPF OC Ghatsila JC Das, AOM Kharagpur Sunil Kumar, KDTI Ghatsila SK Singh, PWI DBM Rahul Kumar, forest department in-charge forester Kalyan Mahato, and forest guard Viplav Kumar.