Protest against Indian Railways over elephant deaths on tracks

New Delhi, Oct.23 : Activists of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) today demonstrated before the Rail Bhawan here to voice concern against the frequent killing of elephants due to speeding trains along the tracks in or skirting forest areas.

PETA activists during their protest also enacted an accident in which 'Bholu', an elephant is fatally knocked down by a 'locomotive'. It was to highlight the pain of elephants being routinely killed by speeding trains in the forest areas, particularly in Assam and West Bengal.

Activists alleged that the Indian Railways has been the reason for the death of several Bholus in real life and the government should ensure preventive steps to protect the wild elephants.

"Today, we demonstrated outside the Railway Ministry to show them how an elephant dies when it meets with a train accident. Of late, a lot many of the elephants have died due to train accidents. And, time and again, we have been informing the Railway Ministry about these incidents but nothing has been done so far. So, today, we are here to demonstrate and show the ministry how it feels and they should do something quickly," said Sachin Bhangera, PETA activist.

Elephant herds are known for traveling long distances in search of food. The matriarch leading the herd follows traditional routes, which might have been in use for centuries.

But the movement of trains on railway tracks in the protected areas around the country, over the years, is causing death of these pachyderms. By Shraddha

ANI