Bhubaneswar, Aug 19: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has devised an innovative approach involving the deployment of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) across these high-risk regions as elephant passing zones and corridors in Odisha, aimed at curbing train-elephant collisions and subsequent fatalities.
These IDS technology connected through fiber optic systems. By leveraging AI-powered capabilities, this groundbreaking system is proficient in real-time detection of elephant presence along a vast 60-kilometer area. Its work is to promptly alert multiple stakeholders, including control offices, station masters, gatekeepers, and locomotive pilots, regarding any unexpected elephant movement along the railway tracks.
With a financial allocation of Rs 79.12 crore, this comprehensive system is set to be installed across all pertinent elephant crossing areas falling within the ECoR's purview. The deployment methodology ingeniously utilizes pre-existing optical fibers as sensors, thus maximizing resource efficiency.
The targeted areas for this installation span multiple sections, namely Maneswar-Bamur, Turekela-Lakhna, Mahanadi, and Narla-Therubali under the Sambalpur circle. Similarly, the scope extends to the Kapilas Road-Raja Athagarh-Angul, Rambha-Ganjam, and Nayagarh-Parjanpur segments under the Khordha Road circle.
The motive behind this is safeguarding elephants alone. This system helps to identify other potential threats, including rail fractures, unauthorized trespassing on tracks, and indications of disaster risk due to unauthorized excavation in proximity to railway lines, as well as the looming danger of landslides near tracks.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has issued a directive urging all railway zones to integrate this innovative system into their safety protocols.
