BENGALURU: The rail barrier fencing around select high conflict zones of Bannerghatta National Park has proved effective in preventing elephants from crossing over to human settlements, unlike in Nagarhole or Bandipur. Forest authorities say with the installation of the barriers, jumbos now have to take a detour of 7 km, thereby avoiding human habitation in Savandurga and Ramanagara.
Presently, 10 km of fencing has been completed from Kalkere to Harohalli border. This year, another 3 km of rail fencing is being taken up in Kodihalli, Harohalli and Bannerghatta ranges which witness frequent elephant movement. Five camera traps have also been installed to check whether elephants move across the metal barrier.
Bannerghatta National Park DCF Javed Mumtaz told Express, “So far, this has been effective. Through camera trapping all along the rail fence, we have been monitoring the movement of elephants. We have found a few animals pushing the barrier but they have not been able to cross it. Further, elephant movement is blocked towards Ramanagara and Savandurga. They were coming to the city earlier, but now they will have to take a longer route.”
Costly project
Erecting these barriers is very expensive - about `1.16 crore per km and involves three stages — selection of rails, placing orders with the railways and calling tenders for transportation. In select areas around the national park which have been identified high conflict zones, the barriers have been installed at a depth of 1.2-1.5 meters. About 40 per cent of the cost goes towards purchase of discarded rail tracks which cost `35,000 per ton.
The DCF added, “We directly place the orders with Railways after the selection of the rails which are of minimum 6 metres in length. The last two years, we procured it from Belgavi and Anantpur while this year, it will be from Dharmapuri.”
Wildlife activists are skeptical about the success of the project as rail barriers are being dismantled where it was installed in South Africa. G Veeresh said, “It is too early to claim that this is effective. At Nagarhole, the metal rails have not been planted deep enough and elephants have managed to break the barrier and come out of the forests. Further, the rails installed in Bandipur or Nagarhole is of low gauge and it needs to be checked as elephants have pushed it and crossed over in a few ranges here. ”