A female elephant was died after being hit by a speeding train between Kokpara and Chakulia under Chakulia police station area in Ghatshila sub-division in the wee hours of Friday.

According to information Koraput-Howrah Samaleswari Express was running at a speed at about 2.40 am when the train hit the elephant causing on the railway track. The female elephant succumb to  injuries  within  an hour. The villagers had gathered to see the elephant.

Concerned over the elephant's death on the railway track, Jamshedpur divisional forest officer, Abhishek Kumar wrote a letter to the railway demanding a restricted speed limit to be followed for the trains, including the goods train between Chakulia and Kokpara as the stretch is very sensitive in view of the elephant movement.

"We are really hurt over the incident. We have demanded the railway authority concerned to keep the train's speed between Kokpara and Chakulia not beyond 40 kmph.  The Ghatshila sub-division comes under the Project Elephant area and move of tuskers are regular in this area.  But as we had never asked for a restricted movement of trains through the stretch as mentioned above, we intimated an assistant engineer of railway posted at Tatanagar and made him aware about concern" said Kumar.

The Jamshedpur DFO said at the time the mishap took place, two elephants were near the railway track -- one of them crossing the track and the other one was at a little distance from the track.  After the mishap the injured kept on lying near the track, but the other elephant returned to Chakulia jungle.

In the day, a team of forest department arrived at the spot and got autopsy of the carcass before getting it buried.

According to sources, the elephant that was killed today had come in a small herd from Chakulia jungle, close to the Bengal border.

“It was really shocking to read about death of elephants on railway track.

Trains continue to kill elephants despite the government claiming to pay active attention to the problem for at least the past five years. In consultation with the Environment and Forest Ministry and the forest departments of state governments, Railways must attempt to find a more lasting solution in the matter through deposit works consisting of measures such as construction of ramps and underpasses,” said a passenger.