Train-hit elephant dies

Jalpaiguri, July 1: The train-hit elephant that was being treated at the Diana forest was found dead early this morning.

Jalpaiguri divisional forest officer Kalyan Das said the animal that had its left hind leg fractured had fallen to the ground yesterday. “We had fed it water, bananas and jackfruit yesterday. But it was found dead today morning. We tried our best to treat it,” he said.

Two female elephants were hit by a moving train near Banarhat station on June 25.

The other elephant, aged around 15, had suffered a broken hip. The animal is being treated at the Gorumara National Park.

Chief conservator of forests R. K. Mahatolia said: “We did our best to treat the elephant and it was under constant watch. The vets are conducting a post-mortem and we will get to know the exact cause of death after that.”

Yesterday forest minister Hiten Barman had said a five-member committee would look into whether the elephants could be put to sleep as both the animals had hardly shown any signs of improvement since the accident. The team will reach Gorumara tomorrow.

The telegraph