At night, another tusker was mowed down by the Alipurduar-bound Mahananda Link Express between Alipurduar and New Jalpaiguri. Police said the incident took place around 9.10pm when Mahananda Exp was passing through Rahimpur tea garden in the Dooars. The tusker, known as ‘Makna Hati', was killed on the spot.
Hours earlier, another tusker was hit by a goods train and left struggling for life. The elephant was dragged some 100 metres by the speeding train but it was so powerfully built that it could limp away with injuries.
The driver of the train had reportedly slowed down which also helped the animal survive. But the elephant was severely injured. Its tusks have been smashed to pieces and many bones in the rear are believed to be broken
To make things worse, the forest department has not been able to provide it medical aid. Although the elephant was traced in the morning, foresters could not go near it fearing retaliation. The department has summoned two kunki (trained) elephants from Gorumara National Park. Read the full report here.
Source: Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, TNN, Kolkata.
