{"id":58000,"date":"2025-08-04T11:33:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T06:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=58000"},"modified":"2025-08-04T12:08:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T06:38:35","slug":"elephant-deaths-railway-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/elephant-deaths-railway-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Elephant Deaths on Railway Tracks Spur Nationwide Mitigation Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Elephant Deaths Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Centre has identified 77 railway stretches across 14 states for urgent mitigation after 186 elephants were killed on railway tracks since 2009.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s expanding railway network has come under scrutiny for its increasing threat to wildlife, particularly elephants.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent government survey revealed that <\/span><b>186 elephants were killed in train collisions between 2009-10 and 2024<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, prompting the Centre to map <\/span><b>77 railway stretches across 14 states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for urgent mitigation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This move reflects a growing recognition of the ecological consequences of infrastructure development in biodiversity-rich regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Scope and Findings of the Joint Survey<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conducted collaboratively by the <\/span><b>Union Ministry of Environment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><b>Ministry of Railways<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>state forest departments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the survey covered <\/span><b>127 railway stretches spanning 3,452 km<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From this, <\/span><b>77 stretches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were identified for immediate intervention based on historical data on elephant movements and fatalities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey marked a <\/span><b>first-of-its-kind systematic assessment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of railway-wildlife conflict zones.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using on-foot and trolley-based inspections, experts evaluated risk levels based on <\/span><b>track elevation, vegetation cover, existing infrastructure, and drainage systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Proposed Mitigation Measures<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A total of <\/span><b>705 structures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have been proposed to reduce wildlife mortality, with a major focus on elephants. These include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>503 ramps and level crossings<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>72 bridge extensions and modifications<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>65 underpasses<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>22 overpasses<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>39 fencing, barricading, or trenching structures<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>4 exit ramps<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These mitigation structures are designed to either allow elephants to cross safely or to divert them away from high-risk tracks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">States with high elephant populations, such as <\/span><b>Assam, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have been prioritised. Assam alone will get 131 level crossings with ramps, followed by 125 in Maharashtra and 92 in Uttar Pradesh.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Regional Focus Based on Elephant Populations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2017 elephant census revealed that <\/span><b>Karnataka hosts the highest number of wild elephants (6,049)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, followed closely by <\/span><b>Assam (5,719)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>Kerala (5,706)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>Tamil Nadu (2,761)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These states are crucial for targeted interventions as they combine dense forest habitats with active rail lines.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Evolution of Wildlife-Railway Safety Collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discussions between the Environment and Railway Ministries began in <\/span><b>August 2022<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, initially identifying 110 stretches across critical elephant and tiger landscapes. Although some mitigation structures already existed, this exercise aims to <\/span><b>institutionalize and scale-up<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> these efforts into a <\/span><b>nationally coordinated framework<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A notable innovation has been the <\/span><b>training of railway personnel in elephant ecology<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the Wildlife Institute of India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These master trainers now educate loco pilots and railway staff on best practices to avoid wildlife collisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Integration of Technology: Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To supplement physical infrastructure, the Indian Railways has started installing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/artificial-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Artificial Intelligence<\/b><\/a><b>-based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially in the <\/span><b>Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> zone.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IDS technology alerts control rooms and train operators when elephants are detected near tracks. As of 2025:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IDS has been commissioned over <\/span><b>141 km<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with plans to expand to <\/span><b>1,158 km<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most significant stretch includes <\/span><b>207.8 km in Odisha<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across 20 stations in the Sambalpur division.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project spans nine railway zones, including NFR, East Coast Railway, Southern Railway, and Northern Railway.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The total investment for IDS implementation is estimated at <\/span><b>Rs. 208 crore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Way Forward and Policy Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This comprehensive mitigation plan signals a shift in infrastructure policy, recognizing the <\/span><b>need to embed ecological sensitivity into transportation planning<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><b>greenfield rail projects on the rise<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, these frameworks will also guide <\/span><b>retrofitting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>future-proofing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of railways in wildlife corridors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government\u2019s move aligns with conservation goals and India\u2019s obligations under international conventions like the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/14th-cop\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Convention on Migratory Species<\/b><\/a><b> (CMS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/convention-on-biological-diversity\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Convention on Biological Diversity<\/b><\/a><b> (CBD)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source :<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/3400-km-14-states-survey-proposes-steps-to-curb-elephant-deaths-on-tracks-10167987\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With 186 elephant deaths by trains since 2009, India has mapped 77 railway stretches across 14 states for urgent action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":58040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1993,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-58000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-elephant-deaths","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}