A railway line that may connect Sikkim with the rest of India more easily is currently under construction between Sevoke in West Bengal and Rangpo in Sikkim. But the track might threaten the lives of many wild animals, especially elephants that frequent the same path, triggering more accidental deaths if the train movement starts.
It is yet another case of neglected environment needs in the face of development. The Sevoke- Rangpo railway line, a project that got okayed in 2007 is now threatening to block a crucial elephant corridor passing through the Mahananda wildlife sanctuary and other elephant inhabited stretches.
TOI reports how the existing rail link from New Jalpaiguri to Sevoke, which passes through a part of the Mahananda, has already seen five elephant deaths this year — on January 5, the Jhajha Express crushed three male and two female jumbos. Almost 40 elephant deaths were reported there between 2004 and 2012.
On an average, this particular stretch of railway line sees 5 elephant deaths each year. If the lines are extended, this toll will surely rise.
The Sevoke-Rangpo track is 52 km long and the initial nod for its construction was given by the then railway minister Mamata Banerji.
A section of the state’s wildlife advisory board members, who had sought an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project at the last meeting in February, 2012, have alleged they were kept in the dark as the state forwarded the clearance to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). But the state’s chief wildlife warden, S B Mondal, said the government did not consider the project a threat to wildlife.
Now, a three member standing committee team of National Board of Wildlife will again look at the environment impact of the site an MoEF source said.
Joydeep Kundu, member of the board says,
“Giving a green signal to the project will hit the biodiversity of the area. The first line, from New Jalpaiguri to Sevoke, has already triggered several elephant, leopard and bison deaths. The second one will be a disaster.”
Animesh Bose, another board member agrees. He says now the NBWL’s role will be crucial in deciding whether the railway line stays or moves away from the crucial corridor.
The elephant migration route
Situated at the western end of the elephant migration route, more than 150 elephants take shelter at the Mahananda sanctuary during the monsoon and winter seasons. Elephants frequently move from one forest to the other and may travel miles in a day. With the railway tracks interfering, it will not only create more human traffic in the forested patch, but will also trigger accidental deaths due to collision with trains.
If at all the track is constructed as per the already sanctioned plan, the MOE has to ensure that more guards and signals are in place to warn passing trains of the elephant movement. Such practices have been done before in states like Assam and might save a jumbo’s life.
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