RailEnquiry

Berhampur: Forest officials have issued a notice to divisional railway manager (DRM) of Khurda Road to appear on January 19 before the investigating officer probing into the recent death of elephants under the wheels of a speeding train near Subalaya station in Ganjam district. Assistant forest conservator (ACF) of Berhampur forest division Prakash Chand is investigating the death of five elephants - one male, three females, a calf - and a foetus after being hit by Chennai-bound Coromandol express on December 29 night."The officer has been summoned as part of investigation," said Berhampur divisional forest officer (DFO) S S Mishra. Forest officials have also sought the addresses of a few other railway officers from the DRM to interrogate them about the accident.Forest officials have already registered a case against the driver of the Coromandol Express at Khallikote forest range office. "We have registered a case against one person. If any person is fund guilty, we will definitely book him under the Wildlife Protection Act," the DFO said.Forest and railway officials have been blaming each other for the mishap. According to the forest department, the accident occurred as the train driver was driving beyond the permissible limit in the elephant corridor. Railway officials, however, said they did not receive timely information about the movement of the herd of elephants in the area to be able to check the train speed on time.A two-member official team of the Central government that visited the mishap site on January 5 also said the accident could have been averted if the speed of the train was controlled.