‘Bee’ wise

The Indian Railways, founded in 1853, may seem to be chugging along on rusty sleepers but that is far from the truth. It rewards innovation in its ranks and the most recent one, in this July, was awarded to the Northeast Frontier Railway. This wing developed equipment that generates amplified buzzing of honeybees, audible from a distance of about 700-800 metres, to chase away wild elephants. The railways service, which runs through northeastern states and parts of Bihar and West Bengal, has 29 earmarked elephant corridors along its length and regularly see these majestic beasts knocked down or killed by a speeding train. A total of 67 jumbos were hit between 2013 and June 2019. To save lives of the wild animals and passengers, Rangiya division field officers and Forest Department officials came up with this quirky solution. After successful trials, 46 of these ‘buzzing’ instruments have been installed across the run of the NFR, and guards posted at crossings have seen herds turning away from tracks upon hearing the noise. The NFR claims that through this, along with a mix of other solutions, they have saved more than a thousand of the gentle giants since 2014. This solution is called “Plan Bee” but it works like an ace.