Mysuru: Mischief-mongers beware! You cannot mess up with Dasara elephants housed at the Mysore Palace as CCTV cameras have been installed at the place where elephants are tied and a control room has been set up to monitor the visuals 24×7.

Following complaints from the mahouts and other elephant caretakers that some people venture very close to the elephants and indulge in mischievous   behaviour, the Forest Department had decided last year to keep the area under watch. Accordingly, a couple of cameras were installed last year.

This year, however, over seven high-resolution cameras have been installed and three more cameras will be installed on Aug. 31 when the second batch of elephants arrives. The control room is manned by Antony from the Forest Department. Antony, who works for the Department at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, has been specially deputed to screen the visuals.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Mysuru Circle V. Yedukondalu said that as elephants are the main attraction during Dasara and they are housed inside the Palace for over 60 days, the department did not want to take chances on the security.

“Usually, curious visitors and tourists go very close to the elephants that are very sensitive and only obey its mahout and kavadis. This being the case, any unfamiliar person will aggravate the elephants and they might react unruly. Also, a mahout and kavadis cannot constantly be with the elephants as they have other duties to attend. In such a situation, these cameras will help us in keeping an eye on elephants,” he said.

Tourists might also try and click selfies with the elephants and this might also cause the elephants to go out of control.

As Dasara nears, the training to elephants will intensify and naturally there are more visitors to see them and this surveillance system will come handy, he said.

CCTV cameras will also help to keep an eye on the health of the elephants, Yedukondalu added.

An exclusive control room has been set up near the place where the elephants are housed.

The control room has one computer with a wide-screen monitor. A hard disk records the CCTV visuals.