Pench tiger tries to cross unfinished underpass on NH-7, fails

Nagpur: Videos and pictures viral on social media of a tiger from Madhya Pradesh side of Pench making several unsuccessful attempts to jump over a partially constructed wildlife underpass on NH-7 have highlighted the importance of wildlife mitigation measures in forest areas.
On Monday night, vehicles sighted the tiger near Dudhiyatal, around 104km from Nagpur, near Kurai Ghat, on the Jabalpur route.
Pench field director Vikram Parihar told TOI that the tiger is a resident of Pench buffer zone around Rukhad. “It couldn’t cross the mitigation structure which is under construction. A guide wall (to avoid soil erosion) is to be constructed at the spot where it tried to jump over.”
Forest rangers soon arrived at the spot to control the situation. The tiger slowly made way towards the forest.
“A 1,400-metre underpass is being constructed in Dudhiyatal area by National Highways Authority of India. This will be the world’s first such long underpass for tigers. Overall, there are 54 mitigation structures being built along the MP side of Pench,” added Parihar.
The videos of the tiger got spontaneous reactions from nature lovers and wildlife buffs who wanted construction of mitigation structures on NH-7 expedited.
On July 9 last year, on the Maharashtra side of Pench near Chorbahuli (on NH-7), a full grown male tiger had jumped over the crash barrier.
Wildlife biologist Aditya Joshi said mitigation structures are planned on sections where there is maximum animal movement across the road. “However, during construction of these structures, the animal crossings shift due to disturbance. It is therefore critical to complete construction in minimum time. It is also important to monitor these crossings during the construction phase. Timely action by Pench officials averted a possible tragedy,” he added.
According to Milind Pariwakam, a member of IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group, the tiger may have avoided going under the structure due to the “ongoing work, out of curiosity or lack of traffic”. “As it is under construction, noise barriers have not yet been installed. These are already planned and budgeted for,” he said, adding that if such “world-class structures in Kanha-Pench corridor can come up then why not in other parts of India too”.
“Multiple tiger corridors such as Pench-Satpura, Satpura-Melghat, Tadoba-Kawal are currently threatened due to roads. In some cases, like on NH-6 in Chhattisgarh, where development agencies have created a fait accompli situation, urgent restoration measures are required. Maharashtra section of NH-7 also needs noise barriers urgently,” said Pariwakam.