By Vedantika Sharma
Dehradun, 13 Apr: The elevated road constructed between Ganeshpur–Mohand and the Datkali Temple in Dehradun will now completely prevent the annual deaths of wildlife in the area. Haritika, who works for environmental and wildlife conservation, says that this elevated road passing alongside forests and hills is a remarkable example of coexistence between humans and wildlife. While travellers will experience something unique, wildlife will also be able to move freely underneath the road without any obstruction.
This is the oldest elephant corridor of the Shivalik region, through which elephants used to regularly move westward towards the Yamuna and the valleys of Himachal Pradesh, and even today, herds can be seen here. Now, construction work on the two proposed flyovers on the elephant corridor up to Saat Modh on the Rishikesh–Dehradun route should also be started soon.
It is worth noting that Haritika had raised the demand for a flyover in the Saat Modh area back in 2010–11, when several people lost their lives in elephant attacks on the main road. Due to pressure from public movements, the state government had ordered the shooting of a tusker elephant. At that time, Haritika launched a campaign to save the tusker, identifying the road as a traditional elephant corridor and demanding the construction of a flyover.
Later, the Wildlife Conservation Department of Uttarakhand honoured her, and instead of being shot, the tusker elephant was relocated to the Chilla Forest Range. Haritika says that in a wildlife-rich state like Uttarakhand, such elevated roads and flyovers are a positive initiative. Encroachments on traditional wildlife corridors must be removed.
At present, the deaths of elephants in train accidents between Dehradun and Haridwar have become a matter of concern. Trains here do not follow the prescribed speed limits; therefore, an effective solution must also be found to ensure wildlife safety from trains in this area.
