This region of West Bengal has for long been part of the migratory route for elephants, but as the Birsa Munda Halt railway platform shows, human interventions are increasingly challenging the survival of the species.
“…if this platform was built 100 metres in other direction, then the elephant corridor would’ve been saved,” Hazra told Quartz. “…it’s a platform in the middle of the forest, and one train passes through it without stopping… at the ticket counter, the fans, electricity wire, switches, everything has been nicked. Even the gate is missing. Only the platform remains.” [...]
“Earlier they used to migrate to West Bengal and then return (to Jharkhand). But over a period of time, maybe over the last 10 years, the return is not happening for various reasons,” Mohanty told Quartz. Chief among them are the construction of a canal system, mining and other industrial activities, besides expanded human settlements and cultivation. As a result, Mohanty says, the feeding habits of elephants have also evolved, and they now like to eat the cash crops of sugarcane and potatoes grown year-round by the farmers in the region.
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