Sawt Falasteen - Sri Lanka adjusts train timings to tackle elephant deaths

The measures came after seven elephants were run over on February 20 by an express train near a wildlife reserve in Habarana, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo, making it the worst accident of its kind.

Authorities said they had identified vulnerable stretches of railway tracks in elephant-inhabited forest areas in the island's northern and eastern regions, and mitigation measures were already underway.

"We have started clearing shrubs on either side of the tracks to allow drivers to see more clearly if herds are near," railway spokesman V. S. Polwattage told reporters in Colombo.

He said fewer trains were being operated at night in areas prone to accidents involving wildlife.

Authorities were also deploying power-set trains, which have better braking power, to minimise collisions.

No passengers were injured in the February 20 incident, but services were disrupted for almost a day.

Wildlife Conservation Director Manjula Amararathna said authorities had also begun filling gaps between sleepers -- the logs that sit in parallel under the rail -- to prevent elephants from getting stuck if they attempted to escape approaching trains.

"We are also using solar-powered lights to illuminate the tracks and are in the process of installing motion sensors that will alert drivers to wild animals on the tracks," Amararathna said.

He said 138 elephants had been killed by trains in the past 17 years since authorities began collecting data.

Two weeks ago, the government announced that 1,195 people and 3,484 animals had been killed in a decade due to the worsening human-elephant conflict on the island.

Killing or harming elephants is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, which has an estimated 7,000 wild elephants, considered a national treasure partly due to their significance in Buddhist culture.

However, the killings continue as desperate farmers struggle with elephants raiding their crops and destroying livelihoods.

Many elephants have been electrocuted, shot, and poisoned. Sometimes, explosive-laden fruits are used to maim the animals, often resulting in painful deaths.

O.Farraj--SF-PST