Opinion | An ‘Elephantine’ Problem The Government Is Trying To Deal With

Seven elephants, including four calves, were killed in a railway accident near Hojai (Assam) in the early hours of 20 December. Five coaches and the engine of the newly introduced New Delhi–Sairang Rajdhani Express also derailed in the process, though no human fatalities or injuries were reported. The tragedy has, however, once again highlighted the risks posed by modern civilisation and elephants to each other.

Collision with trains is one of the major causes of non-natural elephant fatalities. Kirti Vardhan Singh, MoS for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, informed the Lok Sabha on 28 July 2025 that 81 elephants had been killed in railway collisions in various parts of the country between 2019–20 and 2023–24.

A comprehensive report titled Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant–Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches has been prepared by the government based on 127 identified railway stretches spanning a total length of 3,452 railway kilometres. By observing wildlife movement patterns, 77 railway stretches covering 1,965 kilometres across 14 states have been prioritised for site-specific mitigation interventions.

The government has, meanwhile, identified 150 elephant corridors in 15 elephant-range states. This is an improvement over the 88 listed in the report of the Elephant Task Force (2010), known as the Gajah Report. In recent years, around seven degraded elephant corridors have been restored through collaborative efforts of the MoEFCC, respective forest departments, and NGOs. Ten elephant corridors are in Assam, while the state shares two more with Arunachal Pradesh.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, in consultation with the MoEFCC and other stakeholders, published a study titled Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear........

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