A SEVEN-year-old female elephant and a four-month-old male calf were killed when they came in contact with a low-slung naked electrical wire at Parambi-kulam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. They were part of a herd of about 20 elephants. Despite the huge crowd that had gathered at the spot of the incident, the mother of the two baby elephants stood by for more than 24 hours.
The rules say that the power line should be at least 7.1 metres above the ground, but the said line was only 3.75 metres above the ground. A criminal case under the Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972, was registered against the TNEB officials. After the incident, the forest authorities have ordered that the poles be eight metres high so that the lines are 7.1 metres above the ground. The authorities were told not to activate the line till they were raised to the stipulated height, but the directions were ignored.
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