TIRUMALA: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials have completed a week-long trial using drones and CCTV cameras to monitor wildlife movement along footpaths around the Tirumala hills and alert authorities to protect pilgrims.
Officials said the system captures and uploads images and video of animals to the Integrated Central Command Control System (ICCC), enabling timely action. The initiative follows a memorandum of understanding between TTD and the Wildlife Management wing after a leopard killed five-year-old Lakhitha of Nellore near the Narasimha Swamy temple on the Tirumala footpath.
TTD has procured high-configuration thermal imaging technology that detects animals through heat signatures, allowing drones and cameras to “see” wildlife even in low visibility. Expert technicians deployed two drones and 12 CCTV cameras during the trial.
“These tools are highly effective at night or in dense vegetation where traditional visual cameras fail. Already, we have covered the forest zone along the boundary set by TTD and the government with manual CCTV cameras. Soon, tech companies will install a total of 110 such CCTV cameras in and around the boundary, all connected to the ICCC,” officials said.
Some cameras are equipped with loudspeakers and woofers to generate sounds to drive animals away. Data will be analysed to track movement patterns and push wildlife deeper into the forest, away from pilgrim routes. Dedicated staff remain on standby.
TTD Additional Executive Officer Ch Venkaiah Choudary said rising summer temperatures are driving leopards out in search of food and water. “The ongoing summer and scorching heat bring leopards out. The forest department and TTD have taken steps to avoid untoward incidents,” he said.