A distressing series of events unfolded on Thursday as two separate collisions involving elephants and freight trains occurred in Assam and West Bengal.

In an official statement, Sabyasachi De, the Chief Public Relations Officer of the North East Frontier Railway (NFR), revealed that the initial incident took place within the Chalsa-Nagrakata section (KM 68/3-2) situated in the Dooars region of the Alipurduar division on the NF railway. The collision transpired at approximately 2:40 am.

A subsequent incident was documented at 7:10 am, occurring in the Digaru-Panbari section (Km 41/1-2) which falls under the Lumding division of the NFR.

Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the railway authorities have expressed their deep concern regarding these incidents. The NFR has promptly activated a comprehensive response plan, alerting all relevant elephant corridors within its jurisdiction. However, it’s worth noting that the two locations of these collisions were not within the officially designated elephant corridors.

The tragic events have spurred discussions about wildlife safety measures and the need for further protective measures to prevent such unfortunate occurrences in the future. As conservation efforts remain a priority, the NFR’s initiatives to safeguard the local elephant population and mitigate these incidents are anticipated to receive heightened attention and scrutiny.