Use Of AI By Tamil Nadu Forest Dept Brings Down Elephant Deaths On Railway Tracks

Coimbatore: A day after seven elephants were killed and one calf sustained injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department, stated that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has saved the lives of 6,000 elephants in the last two years with the help of AI technology.

Sahu said wild elephants came onto railway tracks in Madukkarai forest as a result of which as many as 35 wild elephants have been killed in train accidents on the stretch from Madukkarai to Kanjikode, over the last 20 years. To prevent such mishaps, the Palakkad railway administration and the Forest Department have been taking various measures, she said.

Trains operating from Coimbatore to Kerala via Bothanur and Walayar areas pass through the Madukkarai forest area. Two railway lines, designated A and B have been constructed for the movement of trains through the area. Of these, the A line runs for 2.9 km and the B line for 4.15 km within the forest. Similarly, the railway lines from Walayar to Kanjikode in Kerala also pass through forest areas.

As part of the efforts to prevent elephant deaths, underpasses were constructed at two locations between Walayar and Ettimadai on the B railway line to allow wild elephants to move freely. Further, arrangements have been made to monitor and warn about the movement of wild elephants 24 hours a day with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). For this, 12 towers have been erected and 24 AI cameras installed. Through the system, a distance of 7.05 km is being monitored, Sahu said.

She said when elephants approach the railway tracks, information is sent from the control room to the nearby railway stations, the Forest Department and the loco pilots. This allows the loco pilot to reduce the train's speed and prevent accidents. Similarly, forest personnel engaged in monitoring the railway tracks are undertaking measures to drive away wild elephants if they are spotted in the area.

Sahu inspected the control room set up in Madukkarai recently and observed how it functions when wild elephants cross the railway tracks. During the inspection, Coimbatore Regional Conservator of Forests and Anamalai Tiger Reserve Field Director Venkatesh and Coimbatore District Forest Officer Jayaraj among other officials were present.

Sahu took to her X handle and wrote, "Zero elephant deaths on railway tracks in the last two years in Madukkarai, Tamil Nadu, on the very tracks that once witnessed tragic losses of precious elephant lives. Last night, I was with my team at the Madukkarai AI Elephant Centre, reviewing the functioning of the AI early-warning system, which has enabled nearly 6,000 safe elephant crossings, showing that technology can meaningfully reduce conflict when applied thoughtfully. No system is ever perfect, but solutions like this show what is possible when prevention is prioritised".

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