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Check this not-that-usual use of mobile technology. It’s happening in India, where the forestry department of Jharkhand State has started handing out free mobile phones to villages to warn them of rampaging elephants. Some 600 villages will take part in the project, and so far the State has handed out more than 100 phones.
Commenting on the initiation, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) A.K. Singh said: “Mobiles are being distributed to one member of the Joint Forest and Village Defence Committee (JFVDC) member of each village. The mobile has all the relevant numbers of the forest department so that the officials can be informed about the movement of rampaging elephants. We have also constituted flying squads who rush to villages where elephant movements are seen. The flying squad members drive away the elephants to save the villagers,” he added.
Just imagine an SMS – “There are rampaging elephants coming your way!” Sounds kinda silly, but it’s a serious danger. As a matter of fact, over 1,000 people have been injured by rampaging elephants, and 679 have died, since 2000. Hopefully, this project will help the local people get the life-saving information on time…
[Via: CellularNews, image from nytimes.com]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
