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Sagging power lines a death trap for Odisha’s jumbos
The status of “National Heritage Animal” to jumbos has done little to save them from electrocution in Odisha. The latest electrocution of two elephants at Bargarh last week only indicates to the continued threat to the endangered animal in the State.
Every month, at least four to five elephants are being electrocuted in the State due to low hanging power lines of several discoms as WESCO, SOUTHCO, NESCO and CESU. Most deaths are found to take place during the months of October to December during the crop ripening season.
As per official reports, 107 elephants have been killed by electrocution alone during the last 10 years. Keonjhar where NESCO operates has accounted for the highest of 27 deaths. This is followed by a dozen in Sambalpur during the same period with WESCO as the discom. As per official elephant census, the figures have plummeted from 2,044 in 1979 to 1,886 in 2010.
In a recent survey conducted by the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO), member organisation of National Board for Wildlife, it was found power lines had sagged at 147 locations in the State.
“The complete list of the locations along with the GPS points were handed over to the Forest Department and the Energy Department two months ago just before the onset of crop season,” pointed out Biswajit Mohanty, environmentalist and secretary WSO.
WSO had also sent this data to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, pointing to the alarming situation. The Ministry had issued letter in September, 2011 to the State Energy Department demanding strict action to ensure that power lines are not left hanging low. But nothing has been done to pull up these dangerous low hanging wires, he regretted fearing the loss of more elephants when they are likely to come in contact with these lines.
Earlier, MoEF had also constituted a four-member expert committee comprising forest officials and electrical engineers to probe elephant deaths caused by electrocution and suggest recommendations to stop them.
The committee in its report submitted in December,2010 had made it clear that the power distribution companies (WESCO, SOUTHCO, NESCO AND CESU) were culpable for the deaths of the elephants. It had stated that most deaths could have been avoided had the height of these lines maintained to at least the minimum of 4.8 metres and had there been inspections of power lines as per the statutory requirements, which were not done.
The report further noted that many of the electrocution cases could have been prevented if the power distribution systems had installed the mandatory safety devices such as earth leakage circuit breakers and safety fuses. These devices disconnect the power supply in case of illegal taps or even where the wire is accidentally earthed by a passing elephant.
