Forest department officials were on Tuesday successfully able to extricate a wild tusker which had been hit by a speeding train in Assam’s Titabor on Sunday.
A herd of elephants were crossing a railway line near near Kharikatia railway station in Assam's Jorhat district when a speeding Rajdhani Express train passing through hit a female elephant and her calf.
While the calf, aged around 10 months, died on the spot, the female tusker survived even after it was earlier thought to have been killed.
Locals woke to the squeals of the elephant which reportedly broke its leg in the accident. Forest department officials arrived at the spot, however rescue operations were delayed due to bad weather conditions.
The elephant, aged around 22 years, was found in a pool of mud. Following prolonged struggle, forest officials were able to rescue it. They lifted the tusker with the help of a JCB and put it on a truck.
The elephant will now be taken in for treatment, informed officials at the scene.
Meanwhile, speaking on the incident earlier, state minister for environment and forest, Chandra Mohan Patowary had accepted the states inadequacy in dealing with the situation.
Patowary said that the forest officials were not equipped with tranquilizers to bring the wild animal under control, which added to the difficulties in its rescue operation.
The forest department had to dig the nearby areas and make special provisions to carry on rescue operations, he had informed.
It may be noted that following the incident, Jorhat district forest officer Biken Pegu said, “The forest department had alerted railway officials about the movement of wild elephants and requested them to ensure that trains slowed down while passing the area. But they did not do that.”
"One female elephant and her calf were killed. We will investigate and take action as per law," Pegu added.
