Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based cameras installed as part of early warning systems have thwarted elephant deaths over the last 22 months along the stretches of tracks A and B at Boluvampatti block I Reserve Forest in Solakkarai to a length of 7.05 km, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, posted on her X handle on Saturday (December 20, 2025).
Ms. Supriya Sahu reviewed the functioning of the system on Friday night (December 19, 2025) at the control room in Puthupathi village on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, accompanied by Conservator of Forests and Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) Field Director N. Venkatesh and District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj.
Two dozen 360-degree-wide hybrid thermal cameras installed on February 9, 2024 have enabled nearly 6,000 safe elephant crossings. A sum of ₹7.2 crore was spent for installing 12 high-mast towers to place the cameras and for constructing the control room.
“No system is ever perfect, but solutions like this show what is possible when prevention is prioritised. 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,” she posted.
Published – December 20, 2025 09:22 pm IST
