Early-warning system on elephant presence soon by Paonta Sahib forest division

Ambika Sharma

Solan, July 24

An early-warning system alerting the local communities about the presence of an elephant within 100 metre range will soon be set up by the Paonta Sahib forest division.

The system will be set up in two villages of the Majra and Girinagar forest ranges as part of the Project Elephant. The Forest Department in Sirmaur district has received the first installment of Rs 10.8 lakh under the project, which is among the key initiatives of the Centrally-sponsored Project Elephant. “An early warning system (Anider) is being procured on a pilot basis. It will alert nearby communities if elephant movement is detected in 100 metre range and will be linked with SMS-based alerts,” said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Paonta Sahib, Aishwarya Raj.

Aimed at protecting elephants coming to the Col Sher Jung National Park at Simbalbara in Paonta Sahib and the forest areas of Nahan from neighbouring Uttarakhand, a sum of Rs 39.22 lakh was sanctioned for the project by the Central Government last year.

The funds sanctioned as part of the assistance to states by the Centre will enable the Sirmaur Forest Department to undertake elephant protection measures. Since the arrival of these animals in the area is a recent phenomenon, cases of human-elephant conflict are coming to fore every now and then.

Stepping up their campaign to create awareness, the Forest Department staff are conducting awareness workshops with all panchayats along the elephant corridor and near forest areas in the affected forest ranges of Majra and Girinagar.

“Signboards displaying dos and don’ts besides road signage are also being prepared. Equipment like camera traps, torches, bags, sound-guns, sirens, etc have been purchased for the staff. Besides, safety kits and uniforms for staff are being procured for the anti-depredation teams,” the DFO added.

Hiring of locals for Gaj Mitras as first hand responders and to alert forest officials regarding elephant movement will also be undertaken. Other key interventions like bee-keeping training will be given to the local communities whose farms are being affected by elephants as a deterrence mechanism.

Training for the field staff for conflict management with the Rajaji experts is also on the anvil.

“Once these works are accomplished by using the funds from the first installment, we will raise a demand for the second installment. Infrastructure-related works like watchtowers, trenches, etc would be taken up after that as our first focus is outreach among the local

communities,” said Divisional Forest Officer Aishwarya Raj.

Cases of elephant-human conflict being registered in the area have necessitated the need to raise the awareness among the public. A few months ago, a herd of wild elephants had attacked an elderly woman, who had gone to collect firewood from a forest at Kolar.

Training officials and field staff in elephant management techniques can help in the expert handling of such conflicts.