Raipur: A day after a pregnant wild elephant died after being hit by a train in Raigarh district, the Chhattisgarh forest department on Wednesday constituted a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the accident and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents.
The female elephant was struck by a train while crossing a railway track in the Charmar beat area of the Gharghoda forest range on Tuesday. It sustained critical injuries and died during treatment, raising fresh concerns over railway-related elephant deaths and human-elephant conflict in northern Chhattisgarh.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force Arun Kumar Pandey directed officials to ensure treatment of the injured elephant and ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident. The committee has been tasked with inspecting the accident site and the railway section involved, assessing elephant movement routes and existing corridors, examining the terrain and embankments along the track, and reviewing wildlife safety measures in place. It will also verify whether speed restriction signboards were installed and visible in elephant movement zones and identify any lapses or factors that may have contributed to the accident. The panel has been asked to submit its report within two weeks.
In a broader directive, the PCCF instructed all forest divisions under the Bilaspur circle through which railway lines pass across wildlife habitats to coordinate with railway authorities to install speed restriction signboards and strengthen other safety measures. Officials said the findings could help improve safeguards in elephant corridors increasingly threatened by expanding rail traffic.
