Dhenkanal: A siren and alert light system that was put up on an experimental basis on National Highway-55 to warn commuters and vehicles about the presence of elephants has gone out of order, a report said. This has put the lives of commuters in danger as they are now deprived of advanced information about the presence of animals on national highway. With the system not working, life has become risky for both commuters and vehicles.
Reports said, a voluntary outfit with help of the Forest department had installed the siren and alert light system near Rasasingh. The siren would automatically blare out a high decibel sound and the light would keep flashing at night if any elephant strayed near the highway.
However, the equipment turned defunct after rainwater seeped inside it a few weeks ago. The locals informed the Forest officials about the development, but the latter is yet to take a call on it. Meanwhile, a herd of elephants strayed into Dhenkanal district near the Ambithi village on the fringes of Bantala locality in neighboring Angul district.
As per reports, over 326 elephants are staying in various forest ranges in Dhenkanal district. Among them, 225 elephants were found in the Hindol forest range, the officials said. When contacted, DFO Prakashchand Gogineni said confirmed that the siren and alert light installed on the NH-55 is out of order. He said that an agency in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu has been asked to repair the equipment on an urgent basis