Guwahati, Dec 20: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday condemned the deaths of eight elephants in a collision with the Rajdhani Express in Assam, attributing the incident to unplanned development and habitat loss that is intensifying human-animal conflict in the state.

In a post on X, Gogoi described the incident as “deeply concerning” and called for urgent attention to the growing challenges of human-animal conflict. He criticized the government for “rapid loss and fragmentation of natural habitats” due to “unplanned and poorly regulated development,” which has reduced forest cover and disrupted elephant migration routes. He added that “a lack of foresight and accountability has made these tragedies increasingly frequent” and stressed that development policies should prioritize communities and the environment over short-term profits.

The accident occurred in the early hours on the Jamunamukh-Kampur section under the Lumding Division of Northeast Frontier (N.F.) Railway. Train No. 20507 DN Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express hit a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. Seven elephants were confirmed dead, with reports of an eighth; no passengers sustained injuries.

Senior railway officials, including the N.F. Railway General Manager and Lumding Divisional Railway Manager, rushed to the site with accident relief trains. Passengers from affected coaches were shifted to vacant berths, and the train resumed its journey to Guwahati at 6:11 AM after detaching derailed coaches. Additional coaches will be attached at Guwahati before continuing, said Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, N.F. Railway.

Sharma added that the accident site, 126 km from Guwahati, is not a designated elephant corridor. The locomotive pilot applied emergency brakes upon spotting the herd, but the elephants collided with the train. Restoration of the line is now complete, and affected trains were temporarily diverted to the UP line.