Man-animal conflict is known to occur from time to time in India in various places and more often than not it is the animals that are the most affected. In order to ensure a safe passage to the wildlife and to reduce the possibilities of human-animal conflict, India is all set to have its first-ever animal overpasses at the under-construction Delhi-Mumbai greenfield expressway. The country’s first-ever animal overpass will be on the lines of the Netherlands for the safe passage of wildlife.
These overpasses shall ensure that Ranthambore Wildlife Corridor connecting Ranthambhore and Mukundra (Darrah) wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan faces no disturbances. For the smooth movement of animals, 5 underground stretches of 2.5km shall be built on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
First Animal Overpass
The animal bridges in India will be built as part of a forest corridor so as to avoid conflict and will allow safe passage to animals at every 500-metre interval. These bridges shall have a boundary wall of eight metres and will also feature noise barriers. The passages will be developed as part of a forest corridor with trees so that animals find it natural. This is indeed the need of the hour to protect wildlife.
The Delhi-Mumbai expressway will have five such animal overpasses of natural-looking structures with a combined length of over 2.5 km. The work on the project is expected to begin in the next two months. Sources also suggest that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) wants to develop these bridges to project them as a sustainable development model.
The much-awaited Delhi-Mumbai E-Way is expected to be completed by the year 2022. This expressway will help decrease logistic time and cost along with the key manufacturing hubs in India. It will cut down the current 24 hour road travel time between the 2 metropolitan cities to just 13 hours. Well, we certainly can’t wait to see what they look like when they are complete!
The E-way project costs a whopping Rs. 90,000 crore and will stretch on for 1,320 km. The expressway will have 8 lanes and about 73 wayside amenities will be set up along the way. These will include restaurants, food courts, dormitories, convenience stores, fuel stations, toilets and helipads. We can’t wait for the project to be completed and head out for a road trip.
We are glad that the government is taking such measures to protect wildlife. Kudos to the Indian government! Tell us your views about the animal bridge in the comments below. For your one-stop solution, book your train and flight tickets through Trainman app. Download the Trainman App to check PNR Status of your ticket, Running Status, Seat Availability in special trains and a lot more.
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