Kerala To Study Roads Connecting States as Solutions to Ban

28 July 2013
Kozhikode

Four years after Karnataka banned nighttime traffic on the two interstate highways passing through the Bandipur tiger reserve, to avoid wild animals from getting run over, Kerala intends to conduct a study and find an alternative solution to the ban.

The study is intended to follow the behavioral pattern of wild animals and the way they use roadside space to find a lasting solution to the issue.The transport department has asked noted wildlife expert P S Easa of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, to undertake a study on wildlife behavior on the stretches of NH- 212 connecting Kozhikode and Mysore and NH-67 between Ooty and Gundelpet where nighttime traffic ban is in force.The government has asked the study to be completed by September.

“We intend round-the-clock monitoring. One of the focuses will be to see how well the animals utilize the space near the roads and how close they get to the highways,” said Easa.”There has not been any scientific study on the impact of vehicular traffic on wildlife, vis-a-vis the two highways cutting through the forests, though the forest officials in Karnataka have attempted some studies it in the past,” he said.

Source– http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/kerala-nightingale-chithra-turns-50/article4961238.ece

Found Useful? Do Share: Kerala To Study Roads Connecting States as Solutions to Ban: