The Railways have installed a sound-emitting system to scare away elephants at Walayar.
Elephant deaths on the railway tracks had increased recently, raising concerns from various sections of people. Railway officials commissioned the new alarm beacons on Tuesday.
The new system will function on solar energy. The system will make the buzzing sound of honey bees and the roaring sound of tigers. The sound emitted from the beacons can be heard up to 500 metres.
Railway officials said that the device, during trials, was found to have been successful in preventing elephants from approaching the rail tracks.
The trigger unit of the system will function at Walayar Railway Station. The sound generator unit functions at a field near the track at the mouth of a cutting. The trigger unit and the sound generator unit communicate through a GSM modem. An SMS is sent for every control command from the trigger unit, and the sound generator unit acts accordingly and sends feedback commands through SMS.