Kaziranga's 35 km elevated corridor to ensure safe passage for wildlife
The Kaziranga elevated corridor project, cleared by the Wildlife Institute two decades ago, will now be executed by NHAI with strict construction guidelines
Guwahati, Nov 6: The proposed elevated corridor in Kaziranga National Park will give a big boost to free and safe movement of animals by preventing vehicle hits, particularly during the rainy season.
This practice of construction of elevated corridors has been implemented successfully in a number of national parks all over the country, said the Director of the Kaziranga National Park, Sonali Ghosh.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Ghosh revealed that nine animal corridors have been identified and the proposed 35-kilometre elevated corridor would cover all the corridors.
She said that around 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles move on the National Highway every day, which not only restricts the natural movement of animals but also leads to frequent incidents of animals getting hit by vehicles.
She admitted that different methods to protect animals and ensure their free movement were thought of and the construction of elevated corridor was found to be the best one.
Ghosh said that during floods, all animals move through the animal corridors and deer are the worst hit. But even in normal time, elephants move through the corridors and their movement is restricted because of movement of vehicles.
Replying to a question whether large-scale constructions would affect the animals, Ghosh said that such elevated corridors have been constructed in other National Parks of the country successfully.
Moreover, the National Board of Wildlife has imposed restrictions on construction. No construction would be al-lowed during floods.
Several other guidelines have also been imposed to ensure that animals are not affected during construction of the elevated corridor.
Ghosh pointed out that the animals also know where to move and where not. She revealed that during the construction of the Kolia Bhomora bridge, there was no animal movement in that area. But now rhinos are moving between Kaziranga and Laokhowa.
Infact, Wild Life Institute has cleared the construction of elevated corridor 20 years back. But the project was delayed and now new technology has been developed and the elevated corridor would be constructed by the National Highways Authority of India.
"Our job will be to ensure that the animals are not affected during the period of construction. Moreover, steps should be taken to ensure that the construction is completed within the shortest possible time." Ghosh added.