Solar-powered water pump to slake animals' thirst in NTR

In order to ensure sufficient drinking water to animals in forest, Karnataka Forest department, along with CSS Corp, a global leader in technology support, has come up with a novel initiative, ‘Tiger Tank Waterhole’, in Antharasanthe Forest Range, under Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (NTR).

The Tiger Tank Waterhole is a solar-powered water pump installed to a borewell to lift water. The solar-powered borewell consists of 17 solar panels, delivering a total of 5,100 Watts of power to the pump when there is sunshine. The water is fed to the waterhole, a source of drinking water for animals. The water would also help fight forest fires.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden B J Hosmath, after inaugurating the project, said, “Karnataka forests support 25 per cent of Asiatic Elephant and 15 per cent of India’s Tiger population. The prolonged dry spell had left the tigers and elephants in dire straits without water. With traditional water bodies drying up, the situation in most forest areas is grim. The role of private companies such as CSS Corp, working with the Forest department in conservation and monitoring, is welcome. I hope more private companies will come forward to support the conservation efforts, using their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.”

800 cameras

CSS Corp CSR Foundation has donated a total of 800 cameras, for trapping the movement of animals, to various Tiger reserves—300 cameras to Ban- dipur Tiger Reserve, 400 to NTR and 100 to Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, Hosmath saidSpeaking on the occasion, NTR Director H C Kantharaju said, “The initiative will add immense value and give the much-needed impetus to our efforts for conservation. We look forward to having more solar pumps in the near future”.

CSS Corp CEO ‘Tiger’ Ramesh said, they take wildlife conservation seriously and were committed to ensuring complete support to the Forest department in their endeavor for Tiger conservation. “I am happy that we are working with the Forest department in implementing the first solar-powered borewell in Karnataka. We will continue to support the initiatives for wildlife protection,” Ramesh said.