As part of a project to tackle man-animal conflict in the North Wayanad forest division, villages bordering the forests in the Thirunelly grama panchayat limits have been ringed with a 34-km solar fence to stave off raids by wild animals. The Kerala Forest Development Corporation has installed the fence for the Forest and Wildlife Department. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has financed the work.
Minister for Forests K.B. Ganesh Kumar inaugurated the first phase of the project at Kattikulam, near Mananthavady, on Tuesday.
The fence will be extended to a distance of 300 km through the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the North and South Wayanad forest divisions at a cost of Rs. 6 crore, K.J. Varghese, Managing Director of the corporation, told The Hindu .
The corporation has identified 100 locations, each covering 1.5 km to 3.5 km, under the 10 forest ranges of the three forest divisions in the district to erect the fence.
The fence is erected on metal posts at a height of 1.6 metre. A solar panel, a battery and an energiser are the main components of a fence. The energiser is the main apparatus, and 100 of them have been imported from New Zealand. High-voltage electric current (about 10 kW) will pass through the fence, and the wild animals will get an electric shock when they come into contact with it.
A memorandum of understanding with the Forest Department makes the corporation maintain the fence for five years, Mr. Varghese said. A four-member team will be stationed in a base camp on the corporation’s tea estate at Kambamala, near Mananthavady, to carry out the maintenance. The Forest Department will engage local people for day-to-day maintenance in each locality.
The department has submitted proposals to NABARD to execute such projects in Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad, he said.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/solar-fence-to-keep-wild-animals-at-bay-in-wayanad/article4363722.ece
Minister for Forests K.B. Ganesh Kumar inaugurated the first phase of the project at Kattikulam, near Mananthavady, on Tuesday.
The fence will be extended to a distance of 300 km through the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the North and South Wayanad forest divisions at a cost of Rs. 6 crore, K.J. Varghese, Managing Director of the corporation, told The Hindu .
The corporation has identified 100 locations, each covering 1.5 km to 3.5 km, under the 10 forest ranges of the three forest divisions in the district to erect the fence.
The fence is erected on metal posts at a height of 1.6 metre. A solar panel, a battery and an energiser are the main components of a fence. The energiser is the main apparatus, and 100 of them have been imported from New Zealand. High-voltage electric current (about 10 kW) will pass through the fence, and the wild animals will get an electric shock when they come into contact with it.
A memorandum of understanding with the Forest Department makes the corporation maintain the fence for five years, Mr. Varghese said. A four-member team will be stationed in a base camp on the corporation’s tea estate at Kambamala, near Mananthavady, to carry out the maintenance. The Forest Department will engage local people for day-to-day maintenance in each locality.
The department has submitted proposals to NABARD to execute such projects in Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad, he said.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/solar-fence-to-keep-wild-animals-at-bay-in-wayanad/article4363722.ece
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