“The committee will monitor if train drivers are complying with the norms on the stretches where elephants are known to cross the track,” District Forest Officer (DFO) in-charge A. Periyasamy said.
The committee was formed after an elephant was hit by Bangalore–Kochuveli Express between Madukkarai and Ettimadai. The committee, led by an Assistant Conservator of Forests, has department officers, wildlife and nature conservation NGO representatives as its members.
At a meeting with the Palakkad Division of Southern Railways earlier this week, the two departments revised the speed of the train at night from 40 km to less than 25 km an hour.
It was also decided that the loco pilots will use the horn continuously (throughout the stretch) to alert the elephants about an approaching train, the DFO said. “The committee will check the railways' compliance with these rules and also if they had already implemented the decisions mutually agreed upon during a meeting in 2009, when elephant deaths on railway track were rampant,” he said.
According to the DFO, the committee will also investigate the cause of death of the tusker on the track on Monday.
The Forest department committee also examine the measures to prevent movement of animals near the tracks from the forest area.
To suit the varying landscape form Podanur to Walayar, the committee will consider creating trenches, fences or walls. “The committee is expected to complete the study in a month’s time,” Mr. Periyasamy added.
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