Chhattisgarh: AI-based app now alerts villagers about movement of elephants

The Chhattisgarh forest department has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based application which can alert users about the movement of elephants in their vicinity.

The 'Chhattisgarh Elephant Tracking and Alert' app is being used in Udanti-Sitanadi tiger reserve on a pilot basis, said an official on Wednesday.

The app uses inputs provided by the 'Hathi Mitra Dal' (groups of local volunteers) which keep tabs on the movement of jumbos to send alert calls and messages.

It will help prevent the incidents of human-elephant conflict, said the tiger reserve's deputy director Varun Jain.

The reserve, spread across Gariaband and Dhamtari districts, has been witnessing incidents of human-elephant conflict over the last couple of years.

These incidents have been a major cause of concern in northern Chhattisgarh for the last one decade, and they are also being reported from some districts in the central region in the last few years.

The districts of Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Gariaband, Jashpur and Balrampur are especially affected. More than 220 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last three years. On the other hand, more than 70 elephants have died in the last five years due to causes ranging from ailments and age to electrocution. Four people died in elephant attacks in Udanti-Sitanadi tiger reserve during the Mahua collection season (in summer) last year, but luckily no death was reportedly this year, Jain said.

''Hathi Mitra Dal has been using Open Data Kit (ODK- an open source application) for the last one year to feed data about location and movement of elephants in affected years. This ODK app works both in online mode (in real time) and offline mode (when trackers are outside the mobile network area).

''The newly-developed Tracking and Alert app will use inputs fed in the ODK app to send automated alert messages and calls to those whose mobile numbers and GPS location are stored in the app,'' he said.

Whenever an elephant is within 10 km of any village, its residents will get automated calls, text messages and WhatsApp alerts, provided their mobile numbers are registered with the system, Jain said.

So far, mobile numbers of 400 villagers have been registered in the tiger reserve area.

''Villagers need not install the app, they can register their mobile numbers with GPS location through concerned beat guards,” Jain said.

The app can also be used for sending alerts about the presence of other wild animals like leopards, bears and wild buffaloes.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)