Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): To reduce human-animal conflicts, the Bandhavgarh National Park authorities are working on a proposal to install a solar electric fence between the core and the buffer area.
The fence will be 30 km in length. When wild animals, particularly tigers come in contact with an electric fence, they receive a strong electric shock. This shock will scare the animals and will force them not to step in nearby villagers.
A senior officer of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve said that the solar electric fence will give an electric shock of 7 to 8 kilowatts, which is enough to scare the animals. After receiving a bearable shock, wild animals will not cross over towards the nearby villages in search of easy prey i.e cattle.
As of now, the tiger reserve officials are amused on noting the behaviour change among some tigers, which loiter around the nearby villages. Instead of going for a long chase of cheetals and deer, they are surviving on easy kill i.e cattle.
When contacted, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve field director Prakash Kumar Verma said that a proposal is being worked out for a solar electric fence in a 30-km stretch between the core and the buffer area.
Once the proposal gets completed, it will be sent to chief wildlife warden for approval.
As of now, there is an old fence, which is damaged at several places either by the villagers or by the elephants. This fence needs to be repaired and its height also needed to be increased. After this, solar panels will be fitted to start electricity supply. All this work will need the expenditure of Rs 2 crore.
Every year, four to five incidents of tiger attacks take place in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. The electric fence will also prevent elephants from entering villages.
Sources said that there is a 12-km electric fence in the area where cheetahs have been kept in Kuno National Park.
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