The Madras High Court has sought an explanation from the Southern Railway following a news report of a wall having been constructed between Coonoor and Hillgrove railway stations on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) thereby causing obstruction to free movement of elephants. The court has also ordered joint inspection of the site by the railway as well as forest officials.
A Division Bench of Justices V. Bharathidasan and N. Sathish Kumar broached the issue during the hearing of a batch of cases related to protection of wildlife. They pointed out that The Hindu Tamil Thisai newspaper had carried an article on the NMR having constructed the wall obstructing the elephant corridor and that the animals could lose their migratory path due to such construction.
