The environment ministry has initiated steps to prepare a regional landscape plan for the conservation of elephants in the East Central Elephant Landscape, comprising the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and other elephant areas. Photo: APNew Delhi: Expressing concern at the alarming increase in elephant deaths because of collisions with trains, environment minister Anil Madhav Dave has asked his counterpart in the railway ministry to take steps to prevent such deaths. “I would request you to issue suitable notifications to the railway authorities in this regard,” Dave said in the January letter to Prabhu. A similar letter was written by the director general of forests S.S. Negi in December. In August, Dave sought a detailed report on train accidents in West Bengal in which three elephants were killed.

Source: Mint February 19, 2017 18:25 UTC