Conservationists urge prioritising wildlife welfare over re-laying of road cutting through tiger reserve

Repair and re-laying work on the road connecting Vazhaithottam and Anaikatty through the ecologically-sensitive area of the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) will start shortly, officials said.

Work on the 14-kilometre stretch, which cuts through pristine habitats of endangered species of wildlife, had been held up due to a dispute between the Forest department and the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) over the width of the road. Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru said discussions were held with the Forest department over the proposed road width, with the department denying permission for expanding the road width from three metres to 3.75 metres.

However, the Collector said the work on the road had only been temporarily stopped due to temple festivals in the area, which, with their high people and vehicular movement, would have damaged the road if the project was completed during the festival period. She said that the road would only be paved at a width of three metres and would be slightly expanded around the curves for the safety of vehicles.

“The road will not see much vehicular traffic as only those vehicles that belong to the villages will be allowed through the forest checkpost, except during the festivals,” said Ms. Tanneeru.

Conservationists raise concerns

Conservationists who spoke to The Hindu said that the region of the tiger reserve that the road cuts through was a vital habitat for critically endangered species of vultures. “It is also utilised by wildlife seen nowhere else in the district, and in extremely small numbers, such as striped hyenas, four-horned antelope, and also a high population of tigers and elephants,” said the conservationist, who said that there needed to be restrictions on the number of vehicles allowed through the road even during festival periods. “Care must also be taken to ensure that the road work is undertaken before or after the vulture-nesting season, so as not to negatively impact the vulture colonies,” he said.

When contacted, Deputy Director of MTR P. Arunkumar told The Hindu that the Forest department had granted permission for the road to be re-laid with appropriate safety measures in place to keep the wildlife safe. “We have insisted that speed-breakers be installed every 400 metres through the stretch, while reptile crossing pathways are also to be set up underneath the roads that should allow small animals and reptiles to cross the road safely,” said Mr. Arunkumar, who added that speed limits along the road would be strictly capped at 30 kilometres per hour.

Conservationists also stated that no further permissions to extend the road, as well as connect it with Sathyamangalam and Bhavanisagar in Erode, must be granted by the Forest department. “There have been demands for the road to be lengthened to connect the landscape with Bhavanisagar for the last few years. Any further extension would increase traffic and anthropogenic pressures manifold, and possibly destroy the last vestiges of habitats for a host of critically endangered wildlife, including vultures,” said the conservationist.