Bahuguna order steps for safety of animals near rail tracks

At a meeting with Rajaji National Park authorities and senior state government officials here, the chief minister asked them to install infra-red cameras on the lines of Corbett National Park to a keep a tab on the movement of elephants and immediate dissemination of information regarding them through the control room.

Bahuguna also asked the authorities to put up strong iron girder fences along the 22km stretch between Motichoor Fatak and Raiwala in view of its vulnerability to such mishaps.

He also asked the railways to provide five wireless sets to the forest department to overcome the problem of frequency mismatch that often hinders exchange of information regarding movement of elephants between the two departments.

Amid concern about animals being run over by speeding trains in forest areas, two elephants were killed after the Delhi-bound Jan Shatabdi Express hit a herd of pachyderms near Motichoor Fatak in Raiwala area in Dehradun district on Sunday.

While one elephant died on the spot, another critically injured in the accident, died yesterday during treatment.