• Petition to the Prime Minister
• The Last Hurrah
• Tiger conservation - a new outlook
• Excerpts from Billy's interview
• Billy gets Sanctuary-Asia Lifetime Service Award

On 31st May 2003, a train accident very near Billy's farm at Dudhwa tiger reserve, killed 3 elephants. Billy has sent a petition to the Prime Minister of India, seeking a proper enquiry and remedial action.

The text of the letter is posted alongside for the use of conservationists and NGO's who may want to take up this issue on their own.

If they do so, a copy of their action may please be sent to this site so that it may be posted here...

- Aqeel Farooqi

From:
Arjan Singh
Tiger Haven
Post Office Pallia - 262902
Distt Kheri (UP), India
Dated: 1-6-2003

To:
The Prime Minister of India
& Chairman, Indian Board for Wildlife
New Delhi

Dear Sir,

I write to you as one of the oldest wildlife conservationists in India. The reason for writing to you is the death by collision of three wild elephants with a metre-guage train on the Dudhwa-Pallia line, at between seven thirty and eight in the evening of 31st May, 2003. The entire succession of clashes with the dwindling elephant population in the degraded forest remaining, is due to lack of political will, bureaucratic indifference, and lack of motivation of the subordinate staff, and unless you intervene personally, and effectively, then there is no ultimate future for wildlife.

The Neora / Soheli stream, supplemented by the Donda River from Nepal forms the hydrographic lifeline of the Dudhwa Tiger reserve. The riverbed has been shallowed by the heavy discharge of silt from the exploited Nepal forests The river is now devoid of water. For the previous five years, I have been trying to get the despoiled riverbed dredged, but the Forest Department says it has no funds. A partial desilting has been carried out under the auspice of Tiger Haven Society, a local NGO but this has not been sufficient due to lack of immediately available funds. The Member of Parliament of Kheri is willing to contribute Rs 10 lakhs, but the District Magistrate is not willing to release the money, in spite of its urgency.

A herd of twenty seven elephants were congregated at a waterhole left on the edge of the embankment, when the train ploughed into the herd. No sound of the hooter was audible, and no attempt at speed control took place, though the distance between casualties was almost one kilometre. The railway trains travel at breakneck speed through the forest, and any request for speed control to  senior authorities begets the reply that that they have time schedules to adhere to, when the entire travelling public is aware of the unpunctuality of the train service.

I will earnestly request you Mr Prime Minister, to order an immediate enquiry with remedial action into this incident, and hopefully your decisive reaction will provide an example for the execution of wildlife conservation policies, which must essentially be controlled by the Centre.

Respectfully

(ARJAN SINGH)