GURUGRAM: With the Gurugram-Faridabad road virtually becoming a death trap for wildlife, the Haryana government is taking measures to regulate the speed of the traffic on this stretch that cuts through the eco-sensitive Aravali ranges.
At least three leopards have died in the past six years by coming under the wheels of speeding vehicles after straying out of the forests.
After last year putting up warning signage alerting motorists about the presence of wild animals in the area, the state wildlife department is now installing thermoplastic rumble strips that cause vibration and thus help in slowing down vehicles. Already, such rumble strips have been installed at four accident-prone spots on the Gurugram-Faridabad road and one on the Pali-Faridabad stretch. Two underpasses are also on the cards.
Rajesh Chahal, wildlife inspector of Gurugram, told TOI, “We have installed four rumble strips on the Gurugram-Faridabad road and one on the Pali-Faridabad road, where there have been cases of fatal accidents involving wildlife in the past six years. We are also planning to create two underpasses on the Gurugram-Faridabad road this year. We have already sent a proposal to the Haryana government for approval.”
In fact, the wildlife department had proposed to create the two underpasses on the Gurugram-Faridabad road after the Wildlife Institute India (WII) pointed out in a report in 2017 that the belt is a rich leopard habitat and abundance of wildlife is thriving in this region of the Aravalis. A nine-year-old male leopard was killed on the same road near Pali on October 1 last year and one more crushed to death in January 2019.
Wildlife activists have finally heaved a sigh of relief. “Finally, we can see some action after so many years. It is a good move by the wildlife department. It is high time that Haryana government imposed speed restrictions of 40-50km on this road to prevent wildlife deaths,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, wildlife activist. “We can’t afford to lose more leopards, hyenas and other precious wildlife to road accidents.”
Another activist, Vivek Kamboj, said, “It's been 10 years and more since these highways came up and yet not an iota of wildlife conservation or mitigation plan has been carried out till now. We can hope that the government will take more such steps in the coming days to ensure that the wildlife in the region is safe.”