Forest and Revenue Departments, Tangedco, to work jointly to prevent elephant deaths in Dharmapuri district

A meeting was held with all three departments, chalking out a series of steps such as the fixing of low/sagging power lines, disconnecting illegal power lines and strengthening vigilance in reserve forest areas; the measures come even as Dharmapuri has seen four elephant deaths due to electrocution in less than 30 days this year

A series of measures are to be jointly taken by the Forest Department, Revenue and Tangedco (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation), to avert animal casualties in the wake of the electrocution of four adult elephants last month.

The measures, to be taken in a staggered manner, are outcomes of deliberations and protocols laid out in a joint meeting held last month, with the three departments, chaired by Collector K. Shanthi.

Dharmapuri district alone has seen at least six elephant deaths in less than two months this year. Earlier this week, two adult elephants were found dead in different reserve forests of the Hogenakkal range, over two consecutive days -- these however, are ‘suspected’ natural deaths as per the conclusions of the autopsies Last month, two female elephants and a makhna were electrocuted to death by a farm fence in Morappur in Palacode. Another tusker died after coming into contact with a high tension power line, when it was climbing up a bund in Morappur. 

Sharing the details of these measures, District Forest Officer K.V.A. Naidu said the meeting called for the mapping of all high-tension power lines in forest fringe villages up to 2 km from the reserve forest boundary; creating a WhatsApp group with TANGEDCO, Revenue and Forest officials for exchange of real-time alerts; strengthening vigilance through joint patrols by the three departments outside and inside reserve forest areas; and clearing bushes under high-voltage power lines (i.e., 11 kilovolts) passing through forest areas.

The Forest Department would identify sensitive villages and prioritize them as ‘very high risk’, ‘high risk’, ‘moderate risk’, and ‘low risk’ areas. Tangedco will scan for illegal fences, hooks, power supply lines connected from high-tension lines and disconnect illegal power lines inside the forests and book offences under the Wildlife Act 1972 and The Electricity Act, 2003. 

In order to achieve effective implementation of the crop damage compensation scheme, Tahsildars have been instructed to inform Village Administrative Officers to provide land documents without delay, for quick settlement of compensation claims, where crop damage has occurred due to wild animals.

According to the Forest Department, joint patrols and joint awareness programmes in forest fringe areas have already commenced. Similarly, low/sagging power lines are being inspected and adjusted to the specified height from the ground level. Steps are being taken to adjust the remaining low/sagging power lines. The realignment of existing transmission line is also being looked into to avoid electrocution deaths.