Forest officials move the carcase of a female Indian gaur that was killed by a train near Londa on Thursday.
Photo by Special arrangements
Hubballi: A female Indian Gaur, aged 10-12, was run over by a speeding train near Londa on Thursday night.
Since January this year, five Indian Gaurs, a Schedule-I species protected under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, have lost their lives after being hit by trains near Londa.
Sources in the Forest Department informed DH that the Yeshwantpur-Vasco Express train, which was crossing Londa at around 1:30 am, hit the gaur killing it on the spot.
The stretch between Londa-Khanapurr and Londa-Tinaighat in Belagavi and Uttara Kannada districts has become a death trap for these animals as the South Western Railway has failed to implement the mitigation plans proposed by the Wildlife Institute of India.
“Since January 2024, there had been 18 such incidents and 20 Gaurs have been killed. For the last 10 years, the Karnataka forest department has written multiple times to the railway officials suggesting site-specific mitigation measures. If these measures are implemented, we can significantly reduce such accidents, saving precious wildlife,” said Belagavi Deputy Conservator of Forests Maria Christu Raja D.
He also says mitigation measures will also enhance railway operational safety. “Since these measures have to happen in railway land, the implementation of these measures has to be from the railways. There has been no response from the railways,” he said.