High-tech covered conductors to protect Kaziranga wildlife

• For the first time in the State, the power department is in the process of installing ‘covered conductors’ for power transmission which will provide safety against accidental contact.
• Covered conductors are longitudinally water blocked and covered with special grade materials that provide insulation and ultra violet ray protection.
• These conductors provide safety against accidental contact and are a major help in significantly reducing outages.
• While the covered conductors would ensure safety of both human and wildlife, power department officials say it would also check power theft to a large extend.
• The first such ‘covered conductor’ is being laid on a 11-km stretch of animal corridor in Kaziranga.
• Earlier, all covered conductors were imported, but the parties that have participated in the tendering process have opened world-class facilities in India and the lot for Kaziranga will be provided from the India factories.

Electrocution of Wildlie animals:

• Dozens of elephants, tigers, sloth bears, monkeys and flamingos are being electrocuted in India’s farmlands, plantations, around human settlements near and inside forests, as they come in contact with poorly maintained power lines and electric wires.
• While there are guidelines to keep animals straying out of their shrinking habitats safe, wildlife researchers said they are not properly implemented.
• Data from Delhi-based NGO Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) show 355 elephants across the country died from deliberate and accidental electrocution between 2010 and 2016 — 62 of these deaths took place in 2016 alone.
• The list identifies flamingos as the second largest casualty of animal electrocution, at 181, followed by leopards and peacocks at 64 deaths each over six years.

By: Ziyaur Rahman