Four deer, one of them pregnant, were run over by a goods train barely one km away from the Kechki railway station in Dhanbad on Monday.

“Railway officials discovered the run over bodies of the deer this morning around 5.30am,” deputy director north of the Palamau tiger reserve Kumar Ashish told The Telegraph Online

“One of the deer killed had a growing calf in her womb. This unborn was torn out,” said Ashish.

“We thus lost 5. We have asked the local railway officials to give us details of the train that caused this run over,” he added.

DS Srivastava, secretary Nature Conservation Society an NGO said there was no end to the tragedies plaguing the tiger reserve Palamau.

“First a tigress was found dead in Betla National Park. Then three bison died in quick succession. A female elephant was also found dead.”

“Now five deer are lost to the railways. It is a serious loss. Railway officials may not understand this tragedy,” lamented Srivastava.

Sources said the railways are laying a third line from Patratu in Jharkhand to Dehri Sone in Bihar along an 11km stretch that is to pass through the core area of the tiger reserve.

“This 4,000 crore rupees project of the railways all set to pass through the critical core area of our tiger reserve is a serious issue,” he said, adding that the stretch between Hehegara and Chhipadohar railway stations under the East Central Railways can be reset, without having any bearing upon the traffic.

Kumar Ashish said if the railways so agree to their suggestions, it will help the tiger reserve in Palamau and its wildlife greatly.

“A resetting of the third line will mean additional 2,000 crores of rupees for the railways,” he said.

Railway sources said for a stretch of 22km in the reserve area starting before the Jawa bridge, there is a 25kmph speed embargo for all types of trains. Further, each train is to do a constant hooting, to keep wildlife at bay from coming over to the railway lines.

“If our suggestion for resetting the third line is accepted, then neither will trains have to slow down, nor there be any constant hooting,” said Ashish.

The tiger reserve in Palamau has more than 130km of state highway beginning from Kutmu to Mahuadarn, which is no less dangerous for wildlife in the area.

“Just last week I saw a langur limping. A vehicle had hit one of its legs,” he said.

“Let wildlife have its own world, space and solitude. They don’t need roads or trains, they need space and peace,” he added.