Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake has introduced a novel solution to tackle the rising number of wild elephant deaths on railway tracks.
Making a statement in Parliament on Friday, Rathnayake proposed a community-driven alert system that could effectively prevent collisions.
He acknowledged that while the Railway Department had previously discussed this idea, no real progress had been made and stressed the urgency of taking immediate action instead of waiting for costly long-term fixes like flyovers.
The proposed system would involve local residents living near railway lines, who would be encouraged to report any elephant sightings to station masters through a dedicated phone line.
The station masters would then relay this information to train drivers, allowing them to reduce speed or take necessary precautions in areas where elephants are present.
Rathnayake believes this straightforward, cost-efficient approach could significantly lower the number of elephant fatalities, offering a practical short-term solution while more elaborate measures are considered.
However, Minister Rathnayake’s proposal has come under heavy criticism on social media, especially by local residents living in close proximity to elephant populations.
They point out that they would not risk their lives just to stay on guard near railway tracks at night to alert station masters of wandering elephant herds.
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