Coimbatore: Three judges from Madras High Court carried out an inspection on the railway tracks passing through Madukkarai forest range coming under Coimbatore Forest Division on Sunday to assess the steps taken by the Forest department and Railways to prevent deaths of elephants. Justices R Subramanian, N Sathish Kumar and G K Ilanthiraiyan inspected the tracks between Ettimadai on the outskirts and Walayar in Kerala, where 24 elephants were killed in the last three and half decades and 11 in the last 14 years.
The judges travelled to Walayar station from Ettimadai station and inspected the tracks on both directions. They inspected the locations where elephants were run over by trains, honeybee alarm system, site for hanging solar fencing proposed by the Railways and existing ramps across the tracks for elephant crossing, official sources said. Special Secretary (Forests) Supriya Sahu, Coimbatore district Collector G S Sameeran, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden Syed Muzammil Abbas, Conservator of Forests S Ramasubramanian and Coimbatore District Forest Officer T K Ashok Kumar were among those who accompanied the judges during the inspection.