The World Wildlife Day serves as a global call to protect endangered species and recognise wildlife’s profound impact on nature and humanity. But, despite the efforts launched for conservation and protection of the wildlife, there is also a threat to animals in the wild mainly due to ease human transportations. The vast network of Indian Railways that is said to be the backbone of connectivity with over 67,000 km of track length in the country, has also led to many unintended consequences for wildlife like fragmentation of habitat, smuggling, illegal trade etc.
According to an official statement, the Indian Railways has implemented several measures to protect wildlife and prevent its smuggling or trafficking. The wildlife corridors, overpasses, and underpasses in areas like Rajaji National Park and Assam’s elephant corridors have reduced train-animal collisions. Speed restrictions in North Bengal and Odisha further help mitigate accidents.
It said that early warning systems, such as thermal cameras in Bandipur National Park, alert loco pilots and station masters about animal movement.
Habitat restoration initiatives, including afforestation along railway tracks and wetland conservation near railway bridges, are being implemented to mitigate environmental impact, it said.
The Indian Railways said that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) plays an important role in curbing wildlife smuggling through India`s vast railway network.
“The Operation WILEP (Wildlife Protection Initiative) is a nationwide operation has been launched by RPF to prevent wildlife smuggling, conducting surprise inspections, and strengthening enforcement at railway stations, parcel offices, and in train routes. RPF is also using CTV surveillance, X ray baggage scanners to detect suspicious activities. Sniffer dogs have also been trained and deployed at stations & in trains to detect smuggling of wildlife products,” the official statement said.
It said that as part of an Inter-Agency Coordination, the RPF has also collaborated with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), forest departments, local police and other law enforcement agencies to conduct frequent raids and track down smugglers to take legal action against them. Joint operations have led to seizure of protected species such as turtles, star tortoises, exotic birds, ivory, and pangolin scales etc. and the arrest of smugglers.
“To strengthen frontline defense, RPF organises training sessions and awareness programs for railway staff, educating them on protection of wild life, wildlife laws, smuggling methods, and identification of trafficked species etc.,” the Indian Railway official statement said on Thursday.
Sharing the details of some of the cases detected by the RPF officials, the officials said, “On January 5, last year, during surveillance and patrolling by RPF staff at Lucknow Junction of North East Railway, 40 rare species of live Indian tortoises were found in 02 bags lying unclaimed on the platform. The tortoises were safely recovered and handed over to Forest Department for further action.”
The railways explained that the vast and complex network of Indian Railways makes it difficult to monitor every passenger, parcel and booked consignments shipment, allowing smugglers to exploit the system. Wildlife traffickers often use sophisticated concealment tactics and techniques, such as hidden compartments in luggage and mislabeled parcels, making detection more challenging. Many railway stations also lack X-ray baggage scanners, parcels scanners and sniffer dogs etc. and have multiple entry and exits limiting the detection and enforcement capabilities and the inter-agency coordination, and the lack of training of railway personnel in wildlife identification and smuggling patterns also makes it challenging to detect illegal activities. Legal challenges also hinder efforts, as weak penalties and lengthy legal proceedings fail to deter traffickers effectively, the statement said.
However, to strengthen the Railway Protection Force’s (RPF) efforts against wildlife smuggling, the statement said that increased use of x ray scanners, specialised training, and advanced surveillance technologies like AI-driven monitoring needs to be adopted. Collaboration with Forest department, local police, Government Railway Police (GRP) and other enforcement agencies can also enhance intelligence sharing and coordinated action. Regular assessments of anti-smuggling measures, backed by data analysis, will help refine strategies and ensure more effective wildlife protection within Indian Railways.
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