A two-day workshop was held on Friday (May 16) and Saturday (May 17) at the Giritale National Wildlife Training and Research Centre to educate locomotive drivers and Railway Department officials on averting collisions with wild elephants on trains.
Railway Department officials including the General Manager of Railways and wildlife officials including the Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation participated in the workshop.
The implementation of development projects in Sri Lanka at various times, changes in land use patterns, and loss of elephant habitat due to clearing the forest areas have been the main reasons for the escalation of the Human-Elephant Conflict.
A large number of wild elephants die annually due to swallowing Hakka Patas (jaw bombs), getting entangled in illegal power lines and being shot by trap guns and getting knocked down by trains.
One-hundred-and-forty-two railway stations in elephant-infested areas have been identified so far. The rail track from Galoya to Minneriya passes through the Kaudulla and Minneriya National Parks. There are many crossing points for wild elephants on the rail track from Maha Oya to Gal Oya. It was also decided to conduct a study on the times when elephants come near the rail track.
The use of new technological methods to prevent elephants from crossing the rail tracks was also discussed extensively. At the end of the workshop, the locomotive drivers and the group visited the Minneriya National Park and discussed the experiences they gained there.
