From January 1, night-time ban on vehicular movement has been imposed on three minor roads in the Kali Tiger Reserve (formerly Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve) in Uttara Kannada district. While welcoming the move, wildlife activist Giridhar Kulkarni said State Highway 34 (Aurad to Sadashivgad in Uttara Kannada), which bifurcates the sprawling reserve, needs a similar restriction to ensure that deaths of animals reduce.

“There are at least 14 main roads in the reserve, out of which SH 34 sees the heaviest traffic as well as maximum wildlife deaths,” he said, and added that with an alternative Haliyal-Yellapur-Ankola stretch to reach Karwar, the road is prime candidate for night-time closure.

According to documents obtained under the RTI Act, he said nearly 50 large animals, including gaur, leopard, sloth bear, sambar, chital, and langur, have been killed on the roads in the region over the past six years.

Across the State

Conservation biologist Sanjay Gubbi said that apart from wildlife deaths, highways fragment pristine forests — acting as a barrier to free movement — and contribute to habitat degradation. “Wildlife mortality owing to vehicular collision seems to be increasing, making a lot of roads a prime candidate for mitigation measures and night closures,” he said, and added that speed-calming measures and re-aligning highways to skirt protected areas must be considered.

While the night ban remains a “temporary mitigation measure”, environmentalist Praveen Bhargav said the SK border–Kudremukh road needs to be closed as it serves “no purpose” now.

“The road was built only to provide connectivity between Kudremukh iron ore mine and Mangaluru Port. Now, the mining has stopped and there is hardly any movement. As a start, night-ban should be enforced here,” he said. As a part of the National Board for Wildlife in the early 2000s, he had first mooted the idea.

Similarly, traffic in M.M. Hills and Cauvery wildlife sanctuaries needs to be restricted, he said. “There is a need for new alignment of a lot of roads. Unfortunately, NHAI continues to widen roads in the existing alignments and then insists that stretches in highways should be widened too,” said Mr. Bhargav.

‘Alternative roads must for ban’

With the concept of night-time restrictions yielding discernable result in terms of reduced disturbance for many nocturnal species, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Vinay Luthra said the lack of alternative roads was a major consideration.

“We would like to implement it in many roads passing through wildlife sensitive zones, but there needs to be an alternative road. It becomes difficult to close major roads otherwise,” he said.

Till then, the department, he said, can regulate traffic. For instance, the road in Bhadra Tiger Reserve cannot be closed owing to the presence of a large number of villages on either side. Instead, the department regulates traffic entry in batches.

Existing regulation of roads

NH 212 (Gundlupet to Sulthan Bathery) and NH 67 (Gundlupet to Ooty)

Forest: Bandipur National Park

Distance: Cumulatively 75 km

Mysore-Mananthavadi Road

Forest: Nagarhole Tiger Reserve

Distance: 19.1 km

Chamrajanagar-Biligiri Ranga Temple-Yelandur

Forest: Biligiri Ranga Temple Tiger Reserve

Distance: 50 km

Three minor roads in Kali Tiger Reserve

Anamod to Hemmadaga; Kulgi-Bhagwati; Potoli Cross-Gund-Ulavi

Cumulative distance: 73 km

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Demands for closure

State Highway 34 in Uttara Kannada and Belagavi forests

Forest: Kali Tiger Reserve, Belagavi forests

Distance: estimated 150 km in forest patches

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National Highway 4A (Belagavi to Panaji)

Forest: Kali Tiger Reserve, Bhimgad Forest

Distance: 84 km

State government had suggested night-time ban and wildlife mitigation measures, they were not included by the National Board of Wildlife in the approval to the NHAI’s proposal

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National Highway 13 (Mangaluru to Solapur) between Bajagoli (Udupi) and Sringeri (Chikkamagaluru)

Forest: Kudremukh National Park

Distance: 21 km

Over 8,000 vehicles estimated to ply on the two-lane road daily

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State Highway 66 from SK border to Kudremukh

Forest: Kudremukh National Park

Distance: 30 km

Constructed to serve the now-closed Kudremukh mines

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Minor road between Kemmangundi and Attigundi road

Forest: Bhadra Tiger Reserve

Distance: 43 km

Proposal pending with the Department of Forests

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State Highway 38 (Kollegal to Hasanur Ghat in Tamil Nadu)

Forest: BRT Tiger Reserve