Injured Tusker Rescued After Train Hit Herd In Titabor

• Image Credit: Google

• Oct 11, 2022 | Dhupali Das

A herd of elephants was crossing a railway line at Kharikatia railway station in Assam's Jorhat district...

Digital Desk: Forest department officials on Tuesday successfully extricated a wild tusker that had been hit by a speeding train in Assam's Titabor on Sunday. 

A herd of elephants was crossing a railway line at Kharikatia railway station in Assam's Jorhat district when a speeding Rajdhani Express train passing through hit a female elephant and her calf.

While the calf, which was roughly 10 months old, died on the spot, the female tusker survived, despite being thought to have been killed.

The squeals of the elephant, which apparently damaged its leg in the collision, woke the residents. Officials from the forest department arrived on the scene, but rescue efforts were hampered by the poor weather.

The elephant, believed to be roughly 22 years old, was discovered in a mud puddle. Officials from the forest were finally able to save it after a long effort. Using a JCB, they lifted the tusker and placed it on a truck. 

The elephant will now be taken in for treatment, as per the officials on site.

Meanwhile, the state minister for environment and forest, Chandra Mohan Patowary, admitted the state's incompetence in dealing with the matter before.

Patowary stated that forest officials were not prepared with tranquilizers to manage the dangerous animal, adding to the difficulty of the rescue operation.

He told the forest department that it was necessary to dig the surrounding regions and make special arrangements in order to carry out rescue efforts.

It may be noted that following the incident, Jorhat district forest officer Biken Pegu said, "The forest department had alerted railway officials about the movement of wild elephants and requested them to ensure that trains slowed down while passing the area. But they did not do that."

"One female elephant and her calf were killed. We'll look into it and act in accordance with the law, "Pegu added.