Cable insulation underway to prevent electrocution of jumbos

GUWAHATI: The insulation of all bare conductors of power lines above elephant corridors in the state is underway to prevent the death of elephants through electrocution. The target length of such power lines is 326 km in as many as 19 locations in the state, with an estimated cost of Rs 110 crore.

According to APDCL sources, elephant corridors, including those in Kaziranga, Manas, Pobitora, Golaghat, Tezpur, North Lakhimpur, etc.—almost all the vulnerable wildlife corridors as demarcated by the Forest Department—were converted to insulated cables under different schemes like SOPD, RDSS, etc.

Three elephants, including two calves, died of electrocution in the Rani Forest Range when the herd strayed into the paddy field for food. The Forest Department requested the APDCL (Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd.) put concealed wire wherever livewires are hanging in elephant corridors.

According to Forest Department sources, since 2021, around 100 elephants have died due to electrocution in the state. The practice of electric fencing to prevent elephant depredation has also started in the state. Such electric fences are not lethal. However, instead of using low-intensity direct current in these fences as is the norm, people often end up drawing electricity from high-power domestic lines. This is illegal and fatal.

Another problem arising out of electric fencing is that if elephants enter an area bypassing electric fences by following a zigzag, they do not get to the exits when chased. In such cases, elephants often enter human habitations and create havoc.

The insulation work of cables at Kaziranga, Manas, Pobitora, and Golaghat, comprising over 12 km, has been completed. The work on a four-kilometre stretch in Pobitora is underway.

The insulation work in the Barekuri area under the Tinsukia Electrical Circle has been going on since January 2023. The work in the Deepor Beel area is also underway.

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