Siren, LEDs in Kovai to warn public of jumbos’ intrusion

The department has fixed sirens with revolving LED lights in high-conflict zones to alert the public on elephant intrusions. The device has been fixed atop high-rise buildings by erecting a pole along the forest border. 

“It is embedded with a SIM, which will be fed with the contact numbers of villagers and Forest Department staff. If the department gets information on elephant intrusions, the staff would dial the mobile number of the device. Immediately, both the siren and LED light would turn on, alerting the public on the presence of wild tuskers in the neighbourhood. The siren sound will cover a 3 km radius and villagers can spot the red light from their neighbourhood,” said N Satheesh, District Forest Officer (DFO), Coimbatore Forest Division. 

With this, the villagers will be alerted against venturing out of their houses, preventing any conflict with the elephants. The Forest Department staff would rush to the spot and take up operations to drive away the elephants.

The alert system has been installed in villages abutting forest fringes at Periathadagam, Perianaickenpalayam and Mettupalayam areas on a pilot basis. 

If the system proves to be successful, the Forest Department would install it in more than 40 spots prone to such conflicts. Currently, the department has identified vulnerable spots in villages for installing the device.