Death on the railway tracks: Jawai needs a solution, quickly

Railway connectivity is usually welcomed, especially in rural India. However, the railway line which passes through the Jawai Bandh Leopard Conservation Reserve in

Pali

has turned into a death trap for endangered wild animals and the locals are unhappy about it.


For the last two years, villagers have been demanding that the track be fenced, specially between the 30km streatch of Perwa and Malani. They also want the area declared as an eco-sensitive zone. But all their appeals have so far fallen on deaf ears.

Scores of leopards, sloth bear and cattle have been crushed in the past few years in Jawai area after the frequency of passenger trains increased. Last year alone, 17 wild animals were killed on the tracks in the area.

The loss of livestock has caused a serious dent in the income of farmers. Manohar Singh, who lost many domestic animals to speeding trains in the stretch, told TOI, “Over the past two years, six of my goats have been mowed down by trains. We have asked both the MP and MLA of this area many times to help us out. But they have done nothing. Who is going to compensate for my loss? I cannot keep buying goats just to have them killed by a train.”

Though conservationists and

wildlife

experts have suggested many measures to curb the accidents, none of them have been implemented.

Shatrunjay Singh, a wildlife enthusiast and conservationist, added, “We have proposed to fence the railway track on the 30km stretch between Perwa and Keshavgan. It’s a serious issue as the trains pass through the core area, which is home to leopards.”

Bheka Ram, a shepherd, explained the severity of the issue, “The problem has become so terrible now that people at times don’t even remove the dead animals from the tracks. I have lost track of the number of times that we have asked local administration and politicians to save both wild as well as domestic animals. However, this election we won’t get lured by fake assurances. If they want votes, they need to resolve this issue.”