HYDERABAD: The
Telangana State Wildlife Board's decision to open a 41km road through the
Kawal Tiger Reserve for
heavy vehicles has raised the
hackles of environmentalists and some
forest officials alike as they fear it would spell doom for wildlife.
Tuesday's decision by the Board would help save about 15km between Nirmal and Mancherial towns for heavy vehicles traversing the Nagpur stretch of National Highway (NH) 44. The road within the reserve is already open for local traffic, including buses and vehicles carrying goods, between Adilabad and Mancherial districts.
Much of the local goods traffic cutting through the reserve is between Luxettipet, Utnoor and Khanapur with farmers transporting cotton and paddy .
“The ban was specific for heavy vehicles that tried to use this road to bypass paying toll on the NH,“ a conservationist said. While a senior forest official who worked in the reserve for a long time added: “The road is vital for animals to access water from Kadem canal that runs along the road, especially during summer.“
Some of the stiffest opposition to the Board's decision has in fact come from forest officials who had previously worked in the reserve. “It is ridiculous that the wildlife Board has now decided to go against its previous decision to stop heavy vehicles from using the road,“ said the senior forest official on condi tion of anonymity . “When I worked there, I used to pick hundreds of wild birds crushed by vehicles. We had also recorded animals including leopards and deer killed on the road during the day ,“ the official added.
While forest officials claimed that a fee at a `punitive level' would be imposed on heavy vehicles to discourage them from using the road in the reserve, they admitted they don't have a say in it as only the government can fix the amount.