Leopard crushed to death by train

Bhopal: A leopard was runover by a train passing through the core area of Ratapani forest area. The incident took place on Sunday night.

The leopard, apparently, had a head-on collision with the speeding train, said sources. Ratapani field director Pradeep Tripathi told TOI, the one-year-old male leopard was crushed to death.

Its remains were disposed as per the wildlife SOP.

The accident took place near Barkheda beat close to Chauka station in Raisen near electric pole number 784/16, he said. Officials said, this is the second incident in core area of Ratapani in last six months. This area is also close to the Budhni-Midghat section of the railways in Sehore district that has become notorious for deaths of big cats. Three tigers and three leopards have died on the tracks in 2018.

Forest officials say that three villages located in the Midghat area are adding to problems in maintaining the tiger habitat. In addition, a wrong fencing around the Midghat railway track is a major reason behind many such frequent casualties of big cats in this region.

In 2015, another adult male tiger was hit by a speeding train and died due to injuries because of an alleged delay on part of the forest department’s rescue team.

Ratapani, with a recorded population of 40, has not yet been notified as a tiger reserve despite an in-principle approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in 2008. Ratapani is spread over 890sqkm in Bhopal-Raisen forest division. NHAI wants to widen the existing lane of National Highway-12 from Bhopal to Bareli through Ratapani. Work is also underway on the Obaidullagunj-Rehti Road that passes through Ratapani. Railways has suggested constructed over overpasses and underpasses to avoid this situation.