- Railways GM cites resources (financial, manpower, technological, training) constraints
In the wake of around six wild elephants being killed after colliding with trains during the course of last week, the Railways Department called for collaborative measures with the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) in order to prevent such incidents.
During the course of last week, nearly six elephants were reportedly killed by train accidents that had taken place along the Batticaloa line. According to reports, four elephants had died after colliding with the night mail train plying from Colombo to Kankesanthurai near Galgamuwa at around 12 midnight. Meanwhile, a female tusker and an elephant calf collided with the “Meenagaya” train en route from Batticaloa to Colombo in the Palugaswewa area of Habarana at around 12.30 a.m., according to the Police.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (2), the Railways General Manager (GM) W.A.D. Gunasinghe said that it is important to take collaborative measures with the help of the DWC since neither can prevent this situation without the support of the other. He also said that these two institutions have been holding discussions regarding this matter for several years, but that no action has been continued due to the lack of institutional support and technological expertise. He added that recent plans have been hampered due to the lack of the required financial support and the human resources which is a common issue for both these institutions, and said that a long term plan has to be made instead of going for urgent plans. “This problem has been identified by several Governments and they were trying to address this issue through various approaches. Unfortunately, none of those programmes were properly institutionalised. Therefore, those programmes lasted only for a very short period. When it comes to the technological aspects of this issue, a system has not been developed for a considerable period of time. But now, we are working to get the support of all the relevant stakeholders in order to make a long term plan to address this issue,” he said.
He also emphasised that they welcome the proposals of the non-State sector since their support has been appreciated for previous programmes. He noted that the officers of these two institutions should be trained to deal with such incidents.
The Director General of the DWC Chandana Sooriyabandara was not available for comment.