Haridwar, 13 November (HS). Most of the railway track in Uttarakhand is in the plain area of the state, which is covered with forests. Of these, wild animals often lose their lives due to accidents on the Haridwar-Dehradun railway track. Many wild elephants and leopards have died after being hit by trains on this track. After these tragic incidents, the Railways blames the Forest Department and the Forest Department blames the Railways. Taking meaningful initiative, Railways and Forest Department have conducted workshops in Dehradun and Haridwar on this serious issue.
On this issue, workshops of WWF India, Northern Railway and Forest Department were organized in Dehradun on Monday and Haridwar on Tuesday. The workshops were organized under the Asia’s Linear Infrastructure Safeguarding Nature project. During the workshop, the situation of railway operations and patrolling on railway tracks was discussed. Besides, discussion was also held regarding the safety of wildlife during the passing of trains. In the workshop, top forest department officials, railway officials, loco pilots, and WWF officials shared mutual ideas and experiences related to solutions. On this occasion, Haridwar Range Officer Bijendra Dutt Tiwari, Forest Inspector Ganesh Bahuguna, BK Malik, Vikram Tomar etc. were present.
Regarding the workshops, Harish Negi, wildlife exponent of Raja Ji Park, says that this workshop was very important, better work will be done on the ground by the railways and forest workers to prevent wildlife accidents.
WWF India’s wildlife advisor Vikram Singh Tomar said that a large part of the Haridwar-Dehradun railway line passes through the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Being an area rich in wildlife, there is a possibility of elephants and other animals having accidents here. This workshop was organized to prevent such incidents, so that in future, Railways and Forest Departments can work in coordination with each other.