This picture highlights roadkill of a Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) observed inside Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh. The metal road that lies on the Indo-Nepal border is about 26 km long from Dudhwa gate to Gauri Phanta (Last village on India’s side) and is open to vehicular traffic from approximately 6 am to 7 pm. The road is quite busy during the day with large transport trucks, tempos and buses crossing the International border from either side.
During our recent visit to Dudhwa, we observed a number of dead frogs, snakes and even mammals (Indian Palm Squirrel and Small Indian Civet) at dusk as we were returning from Dhangadhi (Major town in Nepal) after our work. Though the forest department has put barricades and has issued strict guidelines on speed limit, we didn’t see the commuters adhering to them. In fact, honking of bikes and overtaking of trucks on a single lane highway seemed a common sight.
A series of re-alignments and inclusion of appropriate animal passages has already been suggested by a joint group comprising the Uttar Pradesh State Forest Department, Public Works Department (PWD) and various conservation groups for the upcoming Indo-Nepal border road (also known as SSB road) within India. However, urgent efforts are required to execute the well-thought out plans to save India’s dwindling wildlife.
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A series of re-alignments and inclusion of appropriate animal passages has already been suggested by a joint group but urgent efforts are required to execute the plans to save India's dwindling wildlife.