Keonjhar: To prevent elephants from being run over by trains, the Forest Department has installed a hanging solar fence along a 750-metre railway track on both sides between Creche Hutting to Behera Hutting at Joda in Keonjhar district.
The hanging solar fence was jointly inaugurated by Keonjhar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Dhanraj Hanumant and Joda Block Panchayat Samiti Chairman Kabindra Nayak on the last day of National Wildlife Week today.
“This is hanging solar, it is the first in Odisha. The wires have been fixed at such a height when an elephant comes in contact it will receive an electric shock of 10,000 volts for 3 milliseconds. If elephants come in contact with the wires once or twice those won’t come again, that’s what we are hopeful of,” informed Keonjhar DFO Dhanraj Hanumant speaking to reporters.
Since elephants would not cross railway tracks or roads we expect that they won’t get killed as earlier, Hanumant added.
Notably, on May 19 last, a female elephant and two elephant calves were killed after being run over by a goods train at Joda while a 22-member herd was crossing the railway track.
The move to install a hanging solar fence has been appreciated by the locals.
