Elephant dies after colliding with train in Siliguri

Siliguri, Jul 22 (UNI) An adult male elephant was mowed down by Dn Guwahati-Jhajha Express between Gulma and Sevoke railway stations near here in the early hours today.

Alipurduar Division's Northern Frontier Railway(NFR) Divisional Railway Manager A K Jha told newspersons that as the corpse of the pachyderm got stuck to the train's engine after the collision there were chances of derailment.

Following the incident, the diesel-run engine got inactive after arriving at Gulma station and stood there for six hours, until it was replaced.

West Bengal Forest Minister Ananta Roy said eight elephants had died in North Bengal after they collided with trains in the last two years. Another 37 elephants met unnatural death during this period, he added.

Mr Roy said the NFR had been earlier urged to impose restrictions on the speed of the trains while traversing from Siliguri to Assam via Alipurduars. Requests had also been made to divert the trains via Alipurduar, Falakata and NJP junctions during night, he added.

''But nothing has been done so far,'' he rued.

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