AP Serves Notice To Central Ministry On Death Of Tigress In NSTR

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh government has served a notice to the centre’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on the latter’s lapses in implementation of the wildlife protection plan in the Nagarjunasgar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.

The state government averred that these lapses had caused the death of a two-year-old tigress in the road accident.

The government has asked the regional officer of MoRTH based in Vijayawada to furnish a detailed reply on why gaps had been left in implementation of the approved Project Mitigation Plan, action taken to repair the gaps in the chain-link fence and underpass, measures proposed and implemented to prevent recurrence of such wildlife-vehicle collision incidents in the future, and compliance report on implementation of the Wildlife Mitigation Plan, including details of safety structures and monitoring mechanisms put in place along NH-565.

The notice has been sent by Project Tiger, Markapur, deputy director Mohammed Abdul Rawoof Shaik.

In particular, Andhra Pradesh has raised serious concerns on the death of the Scheduled-1 species of the tigress in the road accident. It called for a comprehensive response to initiate further necessary action.

It may be mentioned that on December 23 at around 7:00 a.m. a tigress of Scheduled-1 species under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, met with a fatal road accident involving a speeding vehicle on NH-565 near Badal Vagu area falling under Mutkur Reserve Forest in the Markapur Division of Project Tiger.

As per the preliminary inquiry, the tigress entered the national highway through a gap between the chain-link fencing and the underpass. Once on the road, a speeding vehicle hit her, resulting in her death. MoRTH, Vijayawada, had earlier upgraded the NH-565 to two lanes with paved shoulders.

As per the approved Wildlife Mitigation Plan, adequate preventive and protective measures are to be taken to prevent wildlife casualties. As per norms, fencing on either side of the road shall be provided during the construction phase. But the incident clearly indicates serious lapses in effective implementation, monitoring and maintenance of the approved wildlife mitigation measures with regard to the gap between the chain-link and the underpass structures, which are mandated to facilitate safe movement of wildlife.

The notice of AP government underlined that death of the tigress has serious ecological, conservation and legal implications, especially in the Project Tiger landscape. It reflects inadequate compliance with conditions stipulated while issuing wildlife clearance for laying the road with two lanes.

NSTR field director B. Vijay Kumar said, “Though a fencing had been erected to check wild animals from straying onto the two-lane NH-565, there had been a gap of a few meters in the fencing on either side of the underpass. This enabled the tigress to enter the road, leading to its death after being hit by a speeding vehicle. It is a serious lapse on the part of MoRTH authorities. We have served a notice, so that MoRTH could present its version on the issue.”