Two elephants died when they accidentally came into contact with a live 11 kV wire dangling from a pole in Nellihudikeri, near Kushalnagar in Kodagu district.
The incident occurred inside a private estate over which the authorities had drawn the 11 kV line and is suspected to have taken place in the early hours of Monday but came to light when the plantation workers reported for duty.
One of the elephants was a male and both the jumbos collapsed on the spot because of the shock imparted by the overhead cables.
This is the third such incident in the last three months in the Kodagu circle as a result of which four elephants have died due to electrocution.
B.N.N. Murthy, Conservator of Forests, Kodagu Circle, said a branch of a tree collapsed on the 11 kV wire and though it was dislodged from the poles it did not snap and was hanging at a height of about six feet. The two elephants which were in the vicinity happened to pass by and were instantly electrocuted when they came into contact with the wire, said Mr. Murthy.
The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) drew flak for ‘’negligence’’ and Mr. Murthy said that though they had been instructed to remove and trim all the branches close to the power cables, it had not been done.
He said that there was also a strong case for switching to insulated cables or power conductors for all power lines in the coffee landscape which had a sizeable number of elephants so that such tragic incidents could be avoided.
Mr. Murthy also said that once the lines trip for whatever reason, the power was discharged and posed no danger. But the CESC recharged the cable after five minutes without inspecting the cause for the tripping.
‘’Though we have been pressing for insulated cables and power conductors the authorities concerned have not taken the steps and there could even be human fatalities under similar circumstances,” said Mr. Murthy.
When contacted, L. Somaraju, Superintending Engineer, CESC, Chamarajanagar-Kodagu Circle, said recharging the cables after five minutes was the standard practice and if the line tripped again then it was construed to be a line fault and personnel would be sent for inspection and fix the cables.
On switching to insulated cable, Mr. Somaraju said it was being taken up in areas where the power lines were close to human habitation. But the cost of using such cables extensively across the district where the lines ran into hundreds of km was prohibitive and would be 10 times the cost of using conventional cables, he added.
Meanwhile, the carcasses of the two elephants were shifted from the estate to the Kushalnagar range for post-mortem.
Karnataka had lost 79 elephants in 2021 and as many as 11 elephants till May this year due to both natural and unnatural causes.
