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Elephant
dies in Tamil Nadu after being hit by train New
Delhi: A grown-up and healthy elephant was found dead alongside the railway
track that links Coimbatore with Palakkad on Friday. The jumbo was reportedly
knocked down by the speeding Thiruvananthapuram bound express train from Bangalore
around the early dawn hours. This accident has taken the total number of elephants
killed this year by trains between Coimbatore and Palakkad to eight. Soon after
the incident, forest rangers and officials of the Palakkad Railway Division rushed
to the spot and moved the carcass of the elephant with cranes. This process disrupted
the train service along this route for nearly 10 hours. As news of dead elephant
spread, people from the near-by villages gathered at the spot and paid their tributes
to the dead animal. "It's a tribute to Lord Vinayaka (elephant god). We will bathe
the elephant, offer flowers and treat it with camphor. It is a public participatory
event," said Poovathaa, a local. Dr. Manoharan, a veterinarian who had been summoned
by the Forest Department officials, said that poor visibility, caused by incessant
rain in the early morning hours might have killed the jumbo, while crossing the
track. "In the last one year between Coimbatore and Palakkad, about eight elephants
have died. Today a 35-year-old male elephant, while crossing the track between
...was hit by the speeding Bangalore- Thiruvananthapuram Mail and died on the
spot. Today early morning it was incessantly raining so probably due to that this
incident happened," said Dr. Manoharan. Experts claim that massive deforestation,
poaching and people encroaching upon forest corridors have forced elephants to
move out of their natural habitats in search of food and water. Over 50 per cent
of Asiatic elephants, considered to be among the most intelligent animals, live
in India. -July
17, 2009 Go
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