Kundapur: Barrier Wall essential along Railway-Track at Hoovinakere, to avoid Cattle being hit by Tr

By Bernard J D Costa
Bellevision Media Network

Kundapur, 11 Aug 2013: The cattle that come to graze and pet animals are being hit regularly by speeding train of Konkan Railway (KR) on the track at Hoovinakere nearby here.

The farmers living in the nearby villages are fetching firewood, dry leaves and raw branches of the wild vegetations that have grown on 400 acres land located nearby Hoovinakere since ages.  The cattle that is reared by the peasants graze on this lush savanna that was recently converted into cashew plantation as the wooded area became extinct. The train-track of KR pass through this plantation, while the cattle in search of grass transverse on the track, when they slip and fall in the gorge. The blaring horn of train distracts the serenity of cattle that run helter-swelter and gets hit by speeding train.

 

The railway authorities have built barriers wherever it’s not essential.  Meanwhile, the most frequently transversed 100 feet long train-track by the cattle has been left unguarded without barrier, owing to which more and more cattle - cows, calves, buffaloes, bulls that escape from cow-sheds are being hit by speeding trains.  The local household families fearing fines from railway authorities refuse to own up the responsibility of respective victim of train hit.

The railway department is expected to lay barrier on either side of the train-track on the stretch of 100 feet that is most vulnerable to trespassing cattle on humanitarian grounds, as more livestock has been perished in train-hit almost daily.  Otherwise, it would also endanger the students and head-load carriers crossing train-tracks.  A memorandum has been forwarded to union railway minister through Udupi – Chikmagalur MP Jayaprakash Hegde, in order to take concrete measure in this regard.