COIMBATORE: As a child, S Santhosh was enthralled by wild elephants that would frequent the grove near his tribal settlement at Iyyanpathi in Coimbatore. Now, the 25-year-old BBA graduate is in a position to save their lives. Santhosh is among the four youngsters — three Irular men and one woman — hired to operate the control room monitoring 24 AI-cameras installed alongside railway tracks in the Madukkarai forest range and prevent jumbos from being hit by trains.
The cameras are monitored 24/7 by A Priyadharshini, a BCom graduate, K Manikandan who has an MCom degree, K Ajit, a BE graduate, and Santhosh. Santhosh and Manikandan hail from Iyyanpathi, Ajit is from Pudupathy and Priyadharshini is from Navakkarai.
“I grew up watching the wild elephants frequent the grove near our settlement and have nurtured an affection for these gentle giants. I felt sad when the elephants were hit by trains and killed. Initially, I wanted to join the forest department by clearing the recruitment exams. I am happy I ended up assisting the forest department this way,” said Santhosh.
Tribal youngsters worked on project for three months
The four youngsters are employed by Binomial Solutions Private Limited at a salary of Rs 12,000. Santhosh said they have worked on the project for three months. They work six hours a day, monitoring the screens linked to the AI-cameras. If they spot the animals venturing within 150m of the railway tracks, they are expected to inform the field staff by phone. The field staff will alert the forest personnel, who will drive away the elephants, as well as the station masters at Ettimadai, Walayar and Kanjikode stations, who alert the loco pilots to stop the trains from hitting against jumbos.
The tribal youth said they got their first alert on Monday evening at 6.30pm when a herd of elephants, including two calves, a mother and a male elephant, ventured near the new watch tower.
The animals were successfully diverted into the forest, he said. Santhosh told TNIE he feels happy and proud to work from the control room as he is playing a part in saving the lives of wild elephants.
For Manikandan, every day is a visual treat. “I have not seen wild elephants so closely. The AI-cameras from US give us very clear images of the elephants. Hence, duty is a visual treat for us,” he said.
According to sources, former Madukkarai forest range officer P Santhiya asked the men to take up the job as they are from a tribal community
First alert on Monday
The tribal youth got their first alert on Monday at 6.30pm when two calves, a mother and a male elephant, ventured near the new watch tower. The wild animals were successfully diverted back into the forest