A three-year-old tigress died after being struck by a railway engine on the Gondia–Ballarshah railway line in Chandrapur district on Thursday. According to officials, the incident occurred around 5:15am when a train heading towards Gondia hit the tigress between Sindewahi and Rajoli stations in compartment number 247 of Lonkhari beat in Sindewahi range. The impact caused severe head injuries, killing the animal on the spot.
Response and Investigation
The loco pilot promptly alerted railway authorities, who then informed the forest department. A team led by range forest officer Anjali Sayankar reached the scene, and a post-mortem was conducted by veterinarians Dr. Ravikant Khobragade and LDO Dr. Vinod Surpam. Senior officials including CCF RM Ramanujam, DCF Kumar Swamy, representatives of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Bandu Dhotre, and PCCF Yash Kayarkar were also present. The tigress was later cremated.
Critical Tiger Corridor
The Chanda Fort–Gondia route, operated by the South East Central Railway (SECR), passes through a vital tiger corridor that connects the Tadoba–Andhari Tiger Reserve with Kanhargaon, Kaval, and Umred–Karhandla wildlife sanctuaries. Since 2001, this stretch has claimed over 130 wild animals, including at least 19 tigers in recent years. In November 2018, three tiger cubs were killed by a passenger train near Junona, sparking widespread outrage. Following that incident, SECR briefly reduced train speeds through forested sections, but wildlife activists claim the measure was quietly abandoned within months.
Demands for Speed Limits
Wildlife activist Dinesh Khate has demanded that the speed limit on this route be fixed at 60 kmph during daytime and reduced to 40 kmph after 6 pm to prevent such accidents. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, which is monitoring the issue through a public interest litigation (PIL), had previously directed both the forest and railway departments to propose immediate remedial steps.
