OPSC / OAS
GS Paper III
Environment & Wildlife Conservation
Rising Elephant Mortality in Odisha: Railways, Corridors and Conservation Policy
A tusker was killed after being hit by a rail engine near Burundabadi under Bissam Cuttack block of Rayagada district in the early hours of Thursday — the latest in a string of unnatural elephant deaths linked to linear infrastructure in Odisha
IUCN STATUS OF ASIAN ELEPHANT
Endangered
LEGAL PROTECTION
WPA 1972 Schedule I; CITES Appendix I
RAILWAY DETECTION TECH
Gajraj Suraksha (AI-based IDS)
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About the News
- A tusker was killed after being hit by a rail engine near Burundabadi under Bissam Cuttack block of Rayagada district in the early hours of Thursday — placing the recurring problem of elephant mortality along linear infrastructure back in focus.
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Source: Current Affairs Digest
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Biodiversity & Conservation Status
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) — Protection Matrix
| Framework | Status |
|---|---|
| IUCN Red List | Endangered |
| Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 | Schedule I — highest statutory protection |
| CITES | Appendix I — prohibits international commercial trade |
| CMS (Bonn Convention) | Appendix I |
Ecological Role
- Recognised as a keystone species and mega-herbivore vital for forest regeneration, seed dispersal and canopy gaps; designated India’s National Heritage Animal in 2010.
Habitat Context in Odisha
- The Rayagada–Kalahandi belt falls under the fragmented deciduous forest tracts of the Eastern Ghats.
- Movement between Kalahandi and Rayagada (Bissam Cuttack) represents inter-district migration across contiguous forest patches served by transport corridors.
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Source: Current Affairs Digest
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The Core Issue: Linear Infrastructure vs. Wildlife Corridors
- Habitat Fragmentation: linear infrastructure — railway tracks, national highways, power transmission lines, canal networks — breaks continuous home ranges into isolated patches, disrupting traditional migratory memory and restricting gene flow.
- Barrier Effect & Edge Effects: restricts foraging movement and forces herds into human habitations and croplands, accelerating human-elephant conflict (HEC).
- Accidental Mortality (Unnatural Deaths): train hits, vehicular collisions, and electrocution (from sagging transmission lines) constitute the top anthropogenic causes of non-poaching elephant deaths in eastern India (Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand).
Exam angle: Distinguish “accidental/unnatural” mortality (train hits, electrocution, collisions) from poaching-related mortality — the former is now the dominant cause in the eastern-India elephant landscape, not the latter.
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Institutional & Policy Mechanisms
- Project Elephant (1992): a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at ecological protection of wild Asian elephants, their habitats, and corridors.
Statutory Gap in Corridor Protection
- Unlike National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, Elephant Corridors do not possess explicit statutory status under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Protection instead relies on notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (e.g., Eco-Sensitive Zones) or executive notifications under Project Elephant.
Judicial Precedent
Hospitality Association of Mudumalai vs. In Defence of Environment and Animals (2020): the Supreme Court upheld the “Right of Passage” for elephants under the Public Trust Doctrine and Article 51A(g), ordering the clearance of commercial structures along the Sigur corridor.
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Source: Current Affairs Digest
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Technological & Mitigation Solutions
Gajraj Suraksha (AI-based Intrusion Detection System)
- Developed by Indian Railways using Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) over optical fiber cables laid along rail tracks.
- Detects ground vibrations caused by elephant footsteps within 200 metres of the track and generates real-time alerts to station masters, control rooms, and loco pilots.
Structural Interventions
Eco-Bridges / Underpasses / Overpasses
Dedicated wildlife crossings constructed based on Wildlife Institute of India (WII) guidelines for linear infrastructure.
Speed Restrictions & Signage
Nighttime speed caps for trains through identified crossing zones and banker engine movements.
Vegetation Clearance
Removing blind curves and clearing thick brush alongside tracks to maximise line-of-sight visibility for loco pilots.
Inter-Departmental Coordination
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) between Indian Railways and State Forest Departments for joint patrolling and WhatsApp/radio-based alert sharing.
Odisha-specific environment and conservation-policy questions like this one are exactly what the daily current affairs desk at Strive Edge IAS Academy — the best OPSC OAS coaching institute in Bhubaneswar — is built to cover in depth.
