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The Odisha government created this in response to the terrible deaths of the female elephant and her two young ones. They were hit by a train in May, when a herd of 22 elephants breached the track close to Joda near Keonjhar. The 10,000V solar barriers will deter animals from crossing railroads and roads.
The wall’s jolt, which is not even close to being fatal, won’t harm the animals. The 750m long floating solar fence was formally launched by Dhanraj Hanuman, the chairman of Joda Block and the DFO for Keonjhar. Between Joda’s Creech Hut and Behera Hut, spanning the railroad tracks and interstate, the first hanging fence in the state is erected.
Hanging Solar Fence For Elephants
The Odisha administration approved a plan that would let people demand and pay for solar fences in areas where elephants are a problem. Due to theft and lack of maintenance, solar fencing was only partially successful as a mechanism to stop depredation that may provoke conflict. Wildlife Wing has proposed a plan for solar-fencing of villages to be implemented under the PPP format, where the agency would be impanelled for routine maintenance for five years.
This was done to promote community ownership. The idea will allow villages to cover 10% of the expense, according to sources inside the Forest & Environment Department.
“Villages affected by elephants can request solar fences by submitting a proposal to their respective gram panchayat. According to sources, the plan would be given to the Divisional Forestry Officer for review when the gram sabha approves it.
A Forest Department will cover the remaining 90% of the project’s cost, with the community covering 10%. Empanelled organisations will be included in the five-year maintenance contract. According to the Department, using a PPP model would reduce conflict by having the public in the solar fence projects.
Orchard owners will also be allowed to participate in the solar-fencing program, but with a 50:50 value ratio, the sources claimed. Elephants hide in orchards during the day, where wayward villagers may run into the jumbos and suffer tragic mishaps. A new monitoring strategy for conserving a gentle giant has been developed for Odisha, which has been in the headlines for an increase in elephant mortality.
According to the proposal, to enable forest ranger officers to pinpoint the exact location of the elephants & distribute information to specific other ranges or forest divisions, forest guards or field-level squads would submit information about elephant movement to them along with geo-tagged photographs. Push the pachyderms into the forests; this would assist the forest divisions in planning field requirements, tracking, and monitoring.
Using an existing smartphone app, the field workers will capture pictures of elephants or new signs while on patrol and submit them to the relevant range officer. HS Upadhyay, Principal Chief Warden of Forest (PCCF-Wildlife), stated that images without location information would not be accepted under any circumstances.
Experts' opinions
Odisha has possibly built the first hanging solar fencing in the world in addition to solar power. There are three-millisecond pulses present in the wires as opposed to current. Elephants won’t try to cross a rail track after one or two tries because they will be startled when they contact the barrier. Dhanraj Hanuman, the Keonjhar DFO, predicted a considerable reduction in accidents as a result.
Similarly, the Joda Block Chairman noted, “In many elephant migratory zones, digging trenches near to railways lines to prevent jumbos from crossing the line has not been particularly effective. Solar fencing is now required to protect humans and save the lives of elephants.”
About the solar fence
A solar barrier is one of the best ways to guarantee security since it is a cutting-edge solution that is simultaneously effective and efficient. A solar wall delivers a quick but intense shock to persons or animals that come in contact with it, similar to an electric fence. However, the impact does not result in death.
How does hanging solar fence function?
A photovoltaic fence is ready to use when the solar panel generates a direct current (DC) from sunshine to charge the system’s battery. The system’s battery might frequently last up to 24hrs a day, depending on sunny hours and capacity, according to a piece in The Economic Times. The output of the charged battery is delivered to the microcontroller, fence, chargers, or energizer. The energizer produces a brief but potent voltage when it is turned on.
The excitation source’s main function is to produce strong, brief pulses with a voltage of around 8000 volts. In order to protect anyone trying to touch the solar fence from any physical injury, this pulse, each lasting about three milliseconds, is transmitted via the fencing system’s wire at a frequency of one vibration every one to five seconds.
