B.Sridhar/TNNJamshedpur: The forest department has started installation of advanced AI-enabled thermal cameras in Dalma, Chakulia and Chandil forest ranges to prevent human-elephant conflict (HEC). Officials said that a total of 52 cameras will be deployed in a phased manner this year.In the first phase, 26 cameras have been distributed across key areas, namely Chakulia (Jamshedpur Forest Division): 10 cameras, Chandil (Seraikela Forest Division): 10 cameras and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary: 6 cameras, respectively.“We are constructing 40-foot-high towers at the identified sites to mount these cameras,” said Jamshedpur DFO Saba Alam, who also holds charge of the Dalma and Seraikela divisions. Installation began on Wednesday, and the system is expected to be fully functional within a month and a half, he added.While the cameras will monitor various wildlife movements, they are specifically programmed to detect elephants moving toward the foothills.Once an elephant is spotted approaching human habitation, an automated alarm system will get activated to send real-time location alerts directly to the mobile phones of the watch-and-ward squad.To complement this technology, dedicated teams of foresters and guards will patrol the buffer zones separating the forest from nearby villages.Upon receiving WhatsApp alerts, guards tracking the area in GPS-enabled jeeps will rush to the location to safely drive the elephants back into the forest, using walkie-talkies for coordination.The forest department has identified specific high-risk villages for this project. In the Chakulia range, Rajabasa, Jamua, Kalsimung, Machadia, Purnapani and Morbera villages have been identified. In the Chandil range, areas include Kushputul, Nimdih, Kukdu, Anda, Raghunathpur and Burudih villages. Under Dalma range, Nutandih, Konkadasa, Gerua, Bhilaipahari and Badkabandh areas have been identified.“Depending on the requirement, new sites could be added,” the DFO said.Data suggests that between 2017 and May 2026, the Chakulia range experienced 43 deaths and 37 injuries. Additionally, the destruction included 271 homes and more than 400 hectares of crop damage.In Chandil range, 17 deaths and 22 injuries were reported, in addition to more than 200 homes being destroyed and more than 300 hectares of crops being damaged. There are no reports of casualties in the Dalma sanctuary in recent years.
