Indian Railways Launches AI-Based Surveillance For Protection Of Elephants In North East
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), which serves five districts in north Bihar, seven districts in West Bengal, and other northeastern states, has implemented an AI-based surveillance system in elephant corridors to reduce the risk of elephant deaths from train collisions.
In order to prevent train-elephant collisions and implement emergency preparedness measures, the NFR and RailTel Corporation of India recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). As per reports, Sabyasachi De, the NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer, stated that the Railways had taken numerous steps to stop and identify the movement of wild animals, particularly elephants, as they approached the rails. One such approach is the installation of IDS in crucial areas.
It has been decided to gradually roll out the system in all other elephant corridors under NFR jurisdiction after the NFR's IDS pilot projects in the Chalsa-Hasimara section of the Dooars area under Alipurduar Division in West Bengal and the Lanka-Hawaipur section under Lumding Division in Assam were both completely successful. According to De, the system is based on artificial intelligence (AI), and current optical fibres will be employed as sensors to identify wild animal movements at certain areas and inform control offices, station masters, gatemen, and loco pilots.
To detect the presence of elephants on the railway in real time, it employs a fibre optic-based acoustic device that operates on the principle of dialysis scattering phenomenon. The AI-based software can track suspicious activity over a 60 kilometre stretch. In addition, the IDS would aid in spotting rail fractures, trespassing on railway tracks, and alerting people to the need to prepare for disasters like landslides and unauthorised digging next to railway tracks.
According to the CPRO, the pilot initiative has already proven a huge success in saving the lives of numerous elephants that are close to the railway tracks. In 2012, there were 11 elephant routes, and there were 80 last year. Elephant movement can be anticipated by the IDS 30 to 40 minutes in advance, allowing for the creation of a real-time alarm for the detection of elephants close to the tracks. The station master, the central control system, and the level crossing gate will all receive audio visual alarms for immediate notification.
By raising the speeds on elephant routes, it will contribute to increasing the mobility of rail transport throughout the NFR region. Other advantages of the IDS system include the ability to detect excavations close to the track along the monitored route, the ability to spot any fibre cuts in the monitored section, the ability to detect the presence of trains, and the ability to track trains for LC gates in the event that the gate is open.
This approach will also aid in the prompt approval of new lines and projects going through wildlife sanctuaries or national parks by the Ministry of Forests and Environment. According to the most recent census, India has 27,312 elephants, with Assam having the second largest pachyderm population in India after Karnataka (6,049). Last year, 21 elephants were killed in accidents involving running trains, electrocution, and other disasters, while eight have perished so far this year. According to sources, 30 elephants died in Assam and 55 in West Bengal as a result of train collisions between 2012 and 2022.
According to officials from Assam's Forest and Environment Department, 71 elephants, including calves, were killed in 2021, primarily due to train strikes, poisoning, electrocution, and accidental fatalities, such as falling into ponds and ditches and being struck by lightning. According to officials, 118 individuals have died in the state since last year as a result of human-elephant conflict. Last year, elephant assaults killed at least 73 people, and 45 people have died so far this year. Many of the victims were women.
