Blame game erupts after three elephants killed by train on West Bengal-Jharkhand border
A herd of seven elephants was crossing the track when the train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar railway section early in the morning on Saturday, rammed the three elephants, killing them on the spot, while four others got stuck near the ones who died. The elephants supposedly came from the Jhargram forest in West Bengal's Kharagpur.
The collision occurred on the busy Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, a corridor often used by wild elephants migrating across forested landscapes in Bengal and neighbouring Jharkhand. This incident is not a one-off, as several cases have been reported from many states where elephants died while crossing railway tracks.
Though, Railways is deeply concerned about this tragic loss of wildlife and expresses its sincere sympathy, it refused to take any responsibility for the incident.
'We have noted with concern certain statements made by the Forest Department alleging that prior information about elephant movement in the area had been communicated to the Railways, but not acted upon. The above version is not factually correct and misleading. No official communication was given by Forest Authorities either in writing or telephonically to the concerned railway authorities about the movement of elephant herds,' stated an official communique from the Indian Railways.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
13 hours ago
- The Hindu
Assam begins eviction drive to clear encroached forest land on Nagaland boundary
The Assam government has launched an eviction drive to clear 11,000 bighas of encroached forest land in Uriamghat area of Golaghat district. The Rengma Reserve Forest, where the first phase of the drive was carried out on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), shares a boundary with Nagaland. A large contingent of police and Assam Forest Protection Force personnel, along with more than 150 excavators, were deployed in the area, anticipating violence. Officials said the exercise passed off peacefully, as a majority of the illegal settlers had vacated the area after receiving notices from the government Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who was at the site, told presspersons that shops and houses built in the reserve forest areas were demolished. 'We provided adequate police protection, and the locals are supporting the exercise. The law and order situation is under control,' he said. 'More than 20% cleared' A Forest Department official in the district said more than 20% of the reserve forest has been cleared of encroachment so far. 'The encroachers started leaving a few days ago when it was conveyed to them that they cannot stay inside the reserve forest any longer,' he said. Some 15,000 people, mostly migrant Muslims, were living in the reserve forest after turning vast swathes of the land into betel nut plantations. The eviction drive followed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's visit to Uriamghat recently. 'People of Assam are victims of the mass-scale encroachment, demographic alteration, and violence, which is caused by illegal settlers. They are firmly behind our Govt in our crackdown against encroachment and realise the need to reclaim what's truly ours,' he posted on social media platform X. The security forces in Assam have been wary of a bid by extremists in Nagaland to take over the cleared forest, claiming it to be an ancestral Naga area. Assam and Nagaland have a decades-old boundary dispute that has claimed more than 150 lives. 'Move to grab land of Nagas' On Monday, the Niki Sumi faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland stated that the eviction drive was a 'well-planned' move by the Assam government to grab the lands of the Nagas. It accused successive Assam governments of first encouraging 'illegal Bangladeshi immigrants' to settle in forests along the interstate border and then evicting them to grab the lands of the Nagas. The eviction drive at Uriamghat is one of a series of such operations since June. More than 55,000 people, mostly Muslims with roots in present-day Bangladesh, have been evicted from forestlands, grazing lands, and government revenue lands in Dhubri, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, and Nalbari districts.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Only 1,400 families of 26,547 railway accident victims have received compensation in 10 years
MUMBAI: Families of only 1,408 of the 26,547 people who died while travelling on Mumbai's suburban railway network in the past 10 years have been compensated. This was revealed in a Right to Information (RTI) query from Indian Railways by activist Godfrey Pimenta recently. Jiten fell to his death while boarding an overcrowded CST-bound train in Kalwa, in 2012 More than 70 lakh passengers travel by local trains – considered Mumbai's lifeline -- every day. The deaths are caused by overcrowding – as was the case on June 9 when two overcrowded trains passed one another near Mumbra station, leading to five people falling off and losing their lives -- or by passengers getting trapped in the gap between the platform and the train. Crossing tracks irresponsibly or stampede, such as the one on September 29, 2017, at the Elphinstone Road Railway Station, where 22 people were killed, are other occurrences that lead to deaths. On an average, at least eight people die in such incidents on all three railway lines in Mumbai every day, which is not surprising as a single coach is packed with 1,800 passengers -- two to three times over its actual capacity. However, only a fraction of families of the dead have received compensation from the railways in the last decade. The maximum compensation given to a family is ₹8 lakh. The railways has spent ₹103.71 crore to pay families of 1,408 deceased passengers between January 1, 2015 and May 31, 2025, whereas 494 injured have received financial assistance of ₹14.24 crore in this duration. Siddhesh Desai, vice president of Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh, a body that works to solve passengers' issues, said, 'The tragic deaths are not mere statistics – they represent systemic neglect by authorities responsible for ensuring commuter safety. They can be prevented with better infrastructure and governance.' Madhu Kotian, member of a railway passengers' association, said, 'Delay in justice is unacceptable. Railway accident victims and their families deserve dignity and timely support. We urgently need to fast-track compensation claims with strict timelines, set up more benches of the Railway Claims Tribunal in Mumbai, fix accountability on the Railway, Government Railway Police (GRP), and other relevant agencies to curb safety lapses, and ensure timely completion of pending projects, foolproof fencing, foot-overbridges and widening platforms.' Sixty-six-year-old A P Wara, whose son Jiten fell to his death while boarding an overcrowded CST-bound train in Kalwa, in 2012, has been struggling to get compensation for the last 13 years. Twenty-nine-year-old Jiten worked at Thomas Cook in Nariman Point. 'I lost my son due to overcrowding, but the Railway Claims Tribunal suspected it to be a case of suicide, as no witness came forward to confirm the incident. I was made to go to the tribunal several times and submit various documents,' said Wara, adding that while her husband was alive 'he would make the rounds of the courts, which I have taken over since his death in 2022'. Twenty-two-year-old Neha Trivedi, who was on her way to work in Vile Parle from Jogeshwari in 2013, was pushed off an overcrowded platform onto the tracks and was hit by a local, leading to her death, said her father Ram Trivedi, 58, a daily wage worker. 'We have been making the rounds of the tribunal for compensation. Neha was the only steady earning member of our house and the compensation money would have helped us educate our younger daughter,' said Trivedi. 'We have now lost all hope and stopped going to the tribunal as we cannot afford the commute just to return empty handed,' said Trivedi, adding that the lawyer representing him has assured justice will prevail. 'Although we know that it is of no use we are still hoping,' he said. 'Despite an increase in the ex-gratia relief by Indian Railways – from the earlier ₹50,000 to ₹8 lakh – the enhancement only seems more symbolic than substantial given the magnitude of loss and suffering experienced by victims' families. Even the revised amounts fail to match rising living costs and emotional toll on families. More worryingly, disparities persist across different states and incidents, leading to unequal pay outs for victims who deserve the same protection under the law,' said Pimenta.
Mint
2 days ago
- Mint
'This is progress': Woman shares touching experience of travelling alone at night on Indian train
A LinkedIn post by Purvi Jain has gone viral for all the right reasons, reminding Indians that change, especially when it comes to women's safety, may be happening more quietly and steadily than we think. In her post, Jain, who was travelling alone on a late-night train from Mumbai to Surat, shared a small but powerful experience that left her feeling deeply reassured about the direction India is moving in. Around 11 pm, two women police officers entered her compartment, looked around, and asked, 'Seat 38 – Purvi?' Momentarily confused, Jain confirmed her identity. What followed was unexpected. 'They stopped, checked whether I was comfortable, and asked if I needed any help. Then they gave me a helpline number to call if I ever feel unsafe,' she wrote in her post, which has now clocked thousands of likes and shares across platforms. The officers, she later learned, were checking in on her because she was a solo female traveller — a small but significant safety initiative by Indian Railways and RPF (Railway Protection Force) to ensure women feel protected, especially on overnight trains. An elderly couple seated next to her were just as moved. 'Their granddaughter often travels alone. Gestures like this make them feel reassured,' she said. Jain praised the transformation she's witnessing as a frequent traveller, from faster ticket bookings and smoother Tatkal verification to the experience of riding on Vande Bharat trains. 'We're not perfect, and we're certainly not yet on par with developed nations. But moments like this show real progress is happening, even if it's one step at a time,' she reflected. Jain's post has struck a chord online, with many applauding the silent efforts of Indian Railways and law enforcement. A user shared a similar experience while travelling in Vande Bharat, 'Were we in the same train or does this happen on a daily basis? I was as well checked by 2 women officers while I was traveling from Mumbai to Surat last Saturday.' Another user wrote, 'From the post and comments below it is clear that this is not an one off incident. Certainly a very praiseworthy initiative from Indian Railways and RPF.' 'What an interesting read! Hashtag#positivestories are much needed. At least it gives us some assurance that we are living in a world which has some positivity around us. Otherwise, reading newspapers (not the financial ones), which are full of crime stories on the very 1st page, is so negative, and I have made a point not to read them early in the morning or just skip those stories full of crime or death reporting. I guess we all should start sharing such incidents if we encounter any on social media platforms,' the third user wrote. 'This positiveness should be admired,' the fourth wrote on LinkedIn. 'Well penned! Yes, we need more … yes, we need it regularly at places police has not managed to reach yet … But incidents like these, offer reassurance for sure that some where some people are constantly putting in effort to make public transport safer for women ,' the fifth user commented.
