At a time when hundreds of kilometres of solar fencing and trenches around the sanctuary area have failed to prevent elephants from raiding human habitations in Odisha, a small experiment of low cost lighting system at the farmers’ end has shown initial signs of success.
Since November last, three field trials have been carried out in Dhenkanal district where farmers could save vegetables, fruits and paddy from being trampled under elephant feet.
The first trial was done at Harekrushnapur village under Kapilash Range of Dhenkanal Forest Division which borders Kapilash Wildlife Sanctuary. A total crop area of around 45 acres was covered in which lights were put up at intervals of 60 metres each on bamboo poles at a height of about 8 feet. The lights were placed at the eye level of elephants so that they can see them from a long distance.
Elephants did come to the field where paddy followed by cauliflowers, brinjals, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, and bananas were grown. The big mammals kept waiting at a distance from lights, but did not invade the crop field.
Similarly, lights were put up during the mango season from April to June 2016 at an orchard spread over 12 acres at Ganjara village near Hindol Forest Range and 20-acre orchard at Patusahi Kateni village in Dhenkanal district.
“I used to incur huge loss when a big elephant herd used to enter my orchards and damage mango trees. But this year, the lighting system helped keep elephants at bay,” said Jugal Kishore Nayak, orchard owner at Patusahi Kateni.
“The light system has been designed based on our field experience with elephants and their habits. We knew that the elephants will be scared of flashing lights instead of fixed and powerful lights. We developed this design using low power LED bulbs used as strobes and decorative lights,” said Biswajit Mohanty, Project Director, WPSI (Wildlife Protection Society of India), who devised the system.
“We are delighted with the preliminary results but still believe that repeat trials are necessary before we can advise farmers to adopt them,” said Mr. Mohanty.
He maintained, “we will develop a prototype self-contained unit including an in-built solar charger which should be low cost, maintenance free and easily set up with minimum technical support. This should be popularised among affected farmers so that they can sleep peacefully instead of chasing elephants all night.”
In one worst kind of man-elephant conflicts, Odisha has lost more than 700 elephants and 700 people since 2004. During the same period, elephants trampled ready-to-harvest crops over 90,000 acres of land. The experiment assumes significance as elephants have now started coming out of forest round the year instead of during harvest season in the past.
