110 wildlife mortality railway stretches getting structures for safe passage: Ministry

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) In an effort to address rising instances of wildlife mortality on railway tracks, the Environment Ministry, in partnership with the Ministry of Railways, has identified 110 railway stretches across elephant ranges and 17 stretches in two tiger-range states that require 705 mitigation measures for safe passage of animals, an official said on Thursday.

Sharing details at a two-day national workshop on "Policy Implementation for Minimising Elephant Mortalities on Railway Tracks" at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, the official noted that the recommended mitigation package for these priority stretches includes 503 ramps and level crossings, 72 bridge extensions and modifications, 39 fencing or trenching structures, four exit ramps, 65 new underpasses and 22 overpasses.

In all, the measures amount to a total of 705 mitigation structures designed to facilitate safe wildlife passage and reduce collisions, the official said.

"Based on a detailed assessment of 127 railway stretches covering 3,452.4 km, 77 stretches spanning 1,965.2 km across 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, considering wildlife movement patterns and the risk of animal mortality," he added.

Comprehensive joint field surveys -- conducted by teams from Project Elephant, WII, State Forest Departments, and Indian Railways -- evaluated site-specific ecological conditions and proposed targeted mitigation measures tailored to each location.

The workshop was organised on March 10-11 by the Information Project Elephant Division of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India.

The event brought together 40 participants, including senior representatives from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's Project Elephant Division, Ministry of Railways, Forest Departments of elephant-range states, and leading conservation scientists.

Key railway zones represented included East Central Railway, East Coast Railway, North Eastern Railway, North East Frontier Railway, Northern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Southern Railway and South Western Railway.

The workshop included technical sessions on elephant ecology, infrastructure planning and biodiversity conservation, stressing the need for joint planning where railways cross wildlife corridors.

"Participants examined state-level data, case studies and key collision drivers -- habitat fragmentation, land-use changes, train speeds, night operations and seasonal elephant movements," a statement said.

"Regional working groups reviewed mitigation efforts across major landscapes (Shivalik-Gangetic Plains, Central India and Eastern Ghats, North-East India, Western Ghats), identified gaps and suggested landscape-specific strategies. Best practices shared included early-warning systems, sensor/AI detection technologies, GIS monitoring and community-based alert and patrolling networks," it noted.

--IANS

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