IDUKKI: In a bid to mitigate man-elephant conflict, the Forest Department in Idukki has come up with a new idea. The department will soon introduce the ‘crash-guard rope-fencing’ project. Iron ropes will be connected with galvanised steel rods, which will be cemented on the floor at a height of three metres on the 1.2-km stretch from Anakkulam to Valiyaparakutty under the Mankulam forest division where the elephant threat is most prevalent.Currently, there are 98 jumbos in the Mankulam division.
If the effort is successful, the department is planning to implement it in other forest fringe areas such as Munnar, Marayur and Idukki, where the tusker menace is rampant.According to sources in the Forest Department, the project estimated to cost Rs 50 lakh has received approval from technical experts of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Palakkad.“A total of five rows of iron ropes will be connected between the galvanised steel rods,” said a department officer. “The ropes in the first and second rows from the bottom will be much thinner than the rope used in the third, fourth and fifth rows. This is to prevent the elephant calves from entering human habited areas. Besides, fencing will be put up in the rivers as well. Since the iron ropes are galvanised (coated with a protective layer of zinc), the chance of rusting is low.”
The department took to the new method after traditional methods such as barbed fencing, elephant trenches and solar-powered fencing have been found ineffective.“The pachyderms easily destruct barbed fencing by uprooting huge trees and pulling them over it, while solar fences pose a threat to the lives of animals as well as humans. However, the department believes that the new technique won’t pose any hazard to either elephants or humans,” said Mankulam DFO B N Nagarajan. Developing an elephant-friendly district masterplan was stressed in the ‘crash-guard rope-fencing’ project’, he said.
“The main aim is to bring down the number of fatalities to zero and reduce the number of crop and property damage by wild animals. We will also take steps to recover the elephants’ traditional migratory routes,” he said. In the recent past, three have been three elephant fatalities, the latest one being the electrocution of an 11-year-old beast at Thachankary estate in Suryanelli.Nagarajan said the tender procedures for the project will be completed soon and the construction of the fence will be completed in a time-bound manner.