Conservation suffers as roadkills in Chinnar sanctuary shoot up

Rise in number of fatalities is dueto rash driving and heavy traffic.

Conservation has suffered a severe jolt with roadkills in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary accounting for a large number of fatalities over the past six months, mainly owing to lack of strict measures to enforce speed limits on vehicles on the Chinnar-Udumalpet road.

A study conducted by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, has found as many as 85 roadkills in the past six months within the sanctuary limits.

An official of the sanctuary told

The Hindu that the Chinnar sanctuary accounts for one of the highest number of roadkills during the period compared to sanctuaries in other States.

Rash driving, heavy traffic

The rising number of fatalities is owing to rash driving and uncontrolled passage of heavy vehicles during night-time.

As per a government order, the speed limits on roads passing through forest areas are restricted to 30 km an hour and passage of heavy vehicles is banned during night-time.

This had considerably reduced roadkills in the Bandipur and Muthumalai National Park and Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, he added.

Chinnar range officer P.M. Prabhu told The Hindu that the sanctuary had recently erected 14 speed breakers between Karimutty and the border with the Annamalai National Park on the National Highway. However, the work could not be completed following stiff resistance by taxi drivers and local political leaders.