Command and Control Centre of M.M. Hills Division inaugurated to curb human-animal conflicts

Eshwar B. Khandre, Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment, inaugurated the Divisional Command and Control Centre of M.M. Hills Forest Division on December 3. He said that advanced technologies will be harnessed to reduce human-animal conflict.

The Minister said forest degradation and increase in wildlife population was contributing to a surge in human–wildlife conflict in recent years and only the use of state-of-the-art technology combined with a spirit of coexistence can help manage it.

Establishing Integrated Command and Control Centres was one of the suggestions adopted by the government in the wake of an increase in conflicts; tiger attacks led to the deaths of three farmers in Saragur taluk of Mysuru district last month.

The Minister said increasing foot patrolling and creating awareness among communities living on the forest fringes about co-existence can help reduce conflicts. The establishment of the command centre is a step in this direction, he added.

Command centres have been established in four locations including Nagarhole, M.M. Hills, Kali, and Madikeri. Training has been provided to staff.

‘’Steps are being taken to open command centres in the Chikkamagaluru division where conflict is high, apart from Bannerghatta National Park, Mysuru division, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Tiger Reserve, and the Hassan range as well. This will be supplemented by a State-level command centre which is being established in Bengaluru,’’ said Mr. Khandre, who expressed confidence of its inauguration after the Assembly session.

Officials were instructed to use Artificial Intelligence cameras, thermal drone cameras, and similar technologies to monitor wildlife movement and provide real-time alerts on the presence of animals close to villages on the forest periphery. This will help prevent loss of lives, the Minister said.

Manoj Rajan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, provided details about the command centre via video conference from the Bengaluru office. He said the centre has software to record details pertaining to deployment of staff at various zones, including the timings. Alerts will be sent over WhatsApp and other platforms to villagers living on the forest fringes about the presence of animals close to the human landscape, he added.

A.R. Krishnamurthy and M.R. Manjunath, MLAs, Shilpa Nag, Deputy Commissioner, Mona Routh, CEO, Ravishankar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Bhaskar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, and others were present.