The elephant calf that sustained critical injuries after being hit by a train in the Chunati area on the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar rail line on Sunday night has succumbed to her injuries in the evening on Tuesday, October 15. Officials of the Forest Department hold negligence responsible for the death of the calf.
The calf was transported to Dulahazara Safari Park in the morning for advanced treatment where she breathed her last around 5 pm, said Mazharul Islam, in-charge of the park.
Mazharul said the body of the calf, weighing at least 5 tonnes, will be buried at the park after conducting an autopsy. “A general diary will also be filed”, he added.
He said, “The elephant was transported to the safari park around 10:30 a.m. “The elephant received initial treatment beside the rail line, where the accident occurred, starting Sunday morning. A relief train from the railway authority helped us transport the elephant.”
“A five-member medical board, headed by Professor Dr. Bibek Chandra Sutradhar from CVASU, has been formed, and the expert veterinarians tried their best,” Mazharul said.
Professor Dr. Bibek Chandra Sutradhar confirmed that the elephant is in critical condition. “We tried our best to treat her injuries,” he added.
“The calf’s left leg is critically broken. A disc in her backbone is dislocated, and she has also sustained injuries to her head and other parts of her body. She was not even able to stand or move. Moreover, she was not eating anything making the situation more complex.”
“We could not save her life as her condition was too critical,” he said with a sigh.
Railways negligence responsible for the death: FD
During the construction of the rail line, Bangladesh Railway erected one overpass and three underpasses to allow elephants to cross safely. Additionally, walls were built on both sides of the rail line to prevent elephants from accessing the tracks.
Noor Jahan, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Officer of Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, said that the pocket gates, intended for people’s movement, have been left unprotected. Holding the railway authority responsible for the accident, Noor Jahan said, “The railway authority was supposed to install steel grills at the gates, but they left them open and unprotected. The elephant calf entered the rail line through one of these gates and was hit by a train.”
“A general diary has been filed with Lohagara police station in connection with the incident,” she added.
Mohammad Subaktagin, project director of Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar Rail Line Construction Project, said that the 1-meter pocket gate was kept according to the request of the Forest Department. “The project has not finished yet and we have decided to close the pocket gate”, he added.
He said, “Consuctants of the project and Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) officials are also working on how the elephants can be prevented from encountering trains. We are planning to install cameras with AI sensors beside the rail line which will send signals to the nearest station and the operator of the train once any elephant crosses the rail line.”
“We are also planning to impose a speed limit on the 27-kilometer stretch to avoid any further collision”, he concluded.
Earlier, the Cox’s Bazar Special Train hit the elephant calf near the overpass constructed in the Chunati area for elephants to cross the tracks around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
A comprehensive study identified 16 elephant corridors along the 27-kilometre Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar rail track, traversing forests home to the endangered Asian elephant.
These corridors are crucial in enabling elephants to move between habitats in search of food and water.
To ensure safe passage, the railway authorities have built an overpass at Chunati, marking a significant milestone as the first-ever elephant overpass on a rail track in South Asia.
However, critics argue that the overpass and underpasses built by Bangladesh Railway to facilitate elephant movement may prove insufficient and threaten the animals’ survival.
Out of the 102-kilometre rail line, approximately 27 kilometres pass through the Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Fasiakhali Wildlife Sanctuary, and Medhakachapia National Park — all essential habitats for Asian elephants in the Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar.
In 2016, the government de-reserved 276 acres of forest, leading to the felling of 720,443 trees and the modification of 26 hills to accommodate the construction of the rail line.
The project began in March 2018 and the movement of trains on the track started in December 2023.
