Karnataka sets up tech enabled command centre to reduce human–animal conflicts | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Amid a steady rise in incidents of human–animal conflict across Karnataka, the state forest department Saturday set up a state-level Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) to closely monitor wildlife movement and enable swift, technology-driven responses to emergencies.Inaugurating the central facility along with seven regional control centres at Aranya Bhavan in Bengaluru, forest minister Eshwar Khandre said the ICCC will function as a single-point monitoring hub aimed at reducing human casualties and crop damage caused by wild animals. Residents living in forest fringe areas can report wildlife movement or forest-related offences by calling the department’s helpline number, 1926. The information will be relayed to the concerned forest division and continuously tracked by senior officers until the issue is resolved.

The command centre will analyse live feeds from AI-enabled cameras, satellite imagery, and data from radio-collared elephants to issue advance alerts on animal movement. It will also monitor GPS-enabled patrol teams, identify conflict-prone zones, and deploy rapid response teams on the ground. The Bengaluru-based ICCC is directly linked to divisional command centres in 11 high-conflict regions, enabling coordinated, real-time responses to human–wildlife conflict situations across the state.Khandre said strict enforcement of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, led to a sharp rise in wildlife populations, intensifying conflict in forest-edge villages. “With over 43,000 sqkm of forest area, it is not feasible to protect such a vast landscape using manpower alone. Recognising the need for technology-based solutions, we proposed the ICCC and regional centres, secured funding, and now made it operational,” he said.