Jalpaiguri, December 02 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Two elephants were killed on Sunday after a goods train hit them near Khalaigram in Jalpaiguri district, prompting the state forest department to look into whether an old or previously unidentified elephant corridor runs through the area.
The train, travelling from Alipurduar to New Jalpaiguri (NJP), collided with a group of elephants belonging to a maljuria herd, a cluster of male elephants that typically move in smaller groups.
In recent years, it has been uncommon for elephants to wander onto the railway tracks that link north Bengal with the Northeast. Typically, elephant movement is reported along the tracks running through the Dooars, connecting Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar Junction.
While two elephants died on the spot, foresters later received information about a third injured tusker. A joint team from the Binnaguri wildlife squad and the Jalpaiguri forest division traced the animal to a forest stretch between Binnaguri and Moraghat. Officials said the tusker had only minor injuries and is being kept under close observation.
Dwijapratim Sen, divisional forest officer of the Gorumara wildlife division, said the incident was especially concerning because Khalaigram does not fall within any designated elephant corridor.
“Since the area is outside the official corridor limits, no speed restrictions have been imposed on trains. But we are now examining whether elephants had used this route in the past,” Sen said.
The department is gathering data on elephant movement in the region over the past decade. If they confirm the presence of a light corridor, a secondary route occasionally used by elephants, officials plan to approach the railways with a proposal to impose speed restrictions along the stretch. Similar speed limits are already enforced on several sections of the Dooars tracks to reduce elephant–train collisions.
Bikash V, divisional forest officer of the Jalpaiguri forest division, said that although no speed curbs are in place in the area, the loco pilots should have spotted the five elephants on the tracks near Khalaigram.
The elephants are believed to have strayed into Khalaigram after losing their usual path while moving from the forests of Cooch Behar.
Though the area falls under the Jalpaiguri forest division, officers from the Gorumara wildlife division are assisting with the wildlife-related investigation. “Instructions have been sent to monitor whether elephants are moving into Khalaigram and the surrounding areas,” said a forester.
