Spread across Gondia and Bhandara districts of Vidarbha region - which falls in the central Indian landscape, the NNTR comprises of the notified area of Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.

In NNTR, ideaForge's FLYGHT is being used and the results have been impressive.

NNTR faced recurring forest fires and human-wildlife conflict. Dense terrain and poor visibility made manual patrolling ineffective. Many fires were deliberately set by villagers or contractors burning tendu leaves to harvest fresh buds. These quickly escalated, endangering lives and wildlife. In one tragic case, five forest personnel died while fighting such a fire. The lack of real-time data from remote areas made quick and safe response even more difficult.

To address the issue, ideaForge's FLYGHT Drone-as-a-Service model enabled thermal tracking, zoom surveillance, and remote audio announcements. Q6 V2's 3 km-range megaphone guided responders and warned villages under watch. Offenders burning tendu leaves were recorded and publicly identified.

Drones patrolled the entire 274 km boundary to spot encroachment and illegal activity. Wildlife was tracked and safely relocated-seven tigers, including a tigress with three cubs, were moved within eight days, all without injury.

"The deployment of Q6 V2 at NNTR clearly demonstrates how drone technology can fundamentally change the way forest ecosystems are protected. In areas where dense terrain, limited visibility, and delayed response have historically posed challenges to execute any mission critical activities, drones with its Eyes in the Sky enable a shift from reactive intervention to proactive monitoring," Ashesh Mathur, AGM (MHA Sales), ideaForge Technology Ltd told DH.

ideaForge's UAV, deployed last year at NNTR, reduced forest fire cases by over 80% through active deterrence and early alerts. "Through our FLYGHT Drone-as-a-Service model, forest teams received continuous aerial and thermal surveillance, real-time communication/ public announcements, and geo-tagged intelligence, significantly improving enforcement and accountability," added Mathur.

A few years ago, three forest laborers lost their lives during fire incidents at NNTR.

With continuous aerial monitoring from the altitude of 150 meters and real time announcements, guiding and instructing the field staff at fire affected zones, we have been able to control the fire without any casualties.

"The deployment also supported wildlife management. Since animals' locations were being continuously monitored, the authorities could intervene at the right moment enabling the safe relocation of 4 tigers and 3 cubs involved in human killings in a short period of time without any harm to wildlife or neighbouring communities. This successful operation was undertaken during the night time for which the forest officials required expert solutions with intricate technology support. With our UAV's night vision, we tracked down the tigers locations during odd hours by providing a live footage basis which the team of veterinary doctors and forest officials were able to reach near these big cats and tranquilize them," the added.