Railways' 'Plan Bee' creates a buzz to tackle mammoth problem
New Delhi, Sep 7 : The Indian Railways is creating a buzz with its "Plan Bee" to tackle a mammoth problem at a meagre cost: It has installed devices which mimic the humming of a swarm of bees to keep elephants off the tracks to avert accidents.
The Indian Railways on Friday said that its "Plan Bee", launched in November last year to stop elephants from being hit by speeding trains in the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR), has been a great success as the number of casualties has gone down drastically.
The idea to use the buzz of bees as a deterrent to keep elephants away from the tracks came after the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Assam's Ranigya Station suggested that the elephants can be distracted by some particular sound or frequency when a train is passing through the elephant corridor.
"The idea was then discussed with the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in Assam's Tezpur, who suggested that certain deterrents like beehive or amplified honey bee sound can be explored," an official of the Indian Railways said on the condition of anonymity.
Based on this idea, an instrument, costing just Rs 2,000, was built that generated the high, continuous buzzing of honey bees that can go beyond 300 to 400 meters.
"The device amplifies the buzz of swarming honeybees, which is considered as a natural nemesis of elephants and is audible to elephants 600 meters away and thus helps them in keeping away from the tracks," the official said.
However, the first testing of the device failed as it was done with a pet elephant.
"The second testing of the device in the Phulbari Tea Estate near Rangapara in Assam was successful. The third testing of the device in front of the forest officials was also successful," the official said.
After the success of the instrument, it was first installed between the Azara-Kamakhya stations in Assam and in its first month about five probable elephant-train accidents were averted, he said.
Currently, about 11 such devices have been installed by the railways in the elephant corridor of the NFR division.
The installation of these devices has also resulted in protecting the railway infrastructure in the area.
According to the railway official, beside this device, the Indian Railways have taken a lot of measures to avert elephant mishaps with speeding trains, including the speed restriction between 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
At least four elephants died after being hit by the Howrah-Mumbai Express in Jharsuguda district of Odisha in April this year.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday also shared a minute-long video showing the device that amplifies the buzz of swarming honeybees
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SIT to be set up to identify forest, revenue land as per SC directions: Karnataka Minister Gowda
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday said a SIT will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court.
Speaking after inaugurating the Mulki taluk Administrative Centre 'Praja Soudha' near here, the minister said the long-pending issue of classification of forest and revenue land has caused hardship to farmers and the government is taking steps to resolve it on priority.
Joint surveys are being conducted to demarcate forest and revenue land in areas earlier granted to farmers, he said, adding that instructions have been issued to all deputy commissioners in the state to expedite the process.
Gowda said many farmers had faced problems as land granted to them earlier had not been formally regularised. The government has now taken up the task of completing the process. A special investigation team (SIT) will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court, he added.
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Between 2018 and 2023, plotting was completed for 1,948 beneficiaries in the district, while in the last two years, plotting under the 1-5 scheme was carried out for 60,943 beneficiaries, he said. Of these, 23,620 farmers have been issued pahani documents.
He said title deeds have been distributed to 2.20 lakh beneficiaries under the regularisation provisions of certain sections relating to house sites.
Under the e-Pouthi campaign, about 60,000 legal heirs have been granted mutation of land records that were earlier in the names of deceased persons, the minister said.
He also said a special drive has reduced cases pending for over two years in Tahsildar courts from 10,774 to 130, while similar cases in Assistant Commissioner courts have been brought down from 73,624 to 2,299.
Land records are now accessible online round-the-clock, eliminating the need for people to visit offices for certified copies, he said, adding that nearly 73 crore pages of revenue records across the state have been scanned at taluk offices in the past two years.
Gowda said taluk administrative offices have been named 'Praja Soudha' to bring governance closer to people. An additional Rs 1.60 crore has been sanctioned for compound construction and other facilities at the Mulki centre.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said efforts are being made to boost investment and tourism in the district.
He said the recent state budget has announced a Global Capability Centre for the district and steps will soon be taken to implement it.
A sum of Rs 70 crore has been sanctioned for a new OPD block at Wenlock District Hospital, while discussions are underway with three private medical colleges to strengthen clinical services at taluk hospitals in Moodbidri, Bantwal, Vitla and Belthangady.
Lok Sabha member Brijesh Chowta urged the revenue minister to resolve forest and revenue land issues in Puttur, Sullia, Kadaba and Belthangady taluks and said approval has been given for development of the national highway from Talapady to Kundapur with service roads on both sides.
