Conservation initiative at Bandipur has gone hi-tech with the use of a drone or unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor any unauthorised entry into forests and to detect any forest fire.
H.C. Kantharaju, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, told The Hindu that drone was being used as part of a pilot project. It had been sourced from KeyFalcon Solutions, the private company which had also provided them with ‘Hejje’ (pugmark), an Android-based application for coordinating foot patrolling of forest guards and tiger tracking. “The drone is being used since a month. It goes on two sorties twice a day and the Forest Department has agreed for a rent of Rs. 3,000 a day,” he said.
The battery-operated vehicle, which can fly up to 40 minutes before recharge, has been used at Hediyala, Nugu, Gundre, N. Beguru and Moleyuru ranges, according to Assistant Conservator of Forests Ravi Shankar. “It has provision for live feed of high-resolution images and we can instantly identify if there is any smoke billowing from the forests and rush to the spot,” Mr. Ravi Shankar said.
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The drone can fly up to a height of 900 metres but the authorities are using it at low altitudes and this has caught the attention of the local community on the fringes of forests. There was a sense of fear among potential mischief-makers who would now hesitate to enter forests, said the official.
Apart from using the drone, the authorities have installed sensor-based cameras for low light and night photography without using flash. The use of drone and cameras for surveillance is expected to deter poachers. “Though these are not substitutes to foot patrolling, they will aid conservation efforts,” Mr. Ravi Shankar said.
If the pilot project is successful, the department is expected to purchase the drone, priced around Rs. 1.8 lakh.
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