Three States, two national highways, 100 elephants & conflict all around Premium

Even while the proposal to construct an elephant pass near Hosur along National Highway 844 is welcome, it brings to the fore, the need for not one, but a number of elephant passes along national highways connecting Chennai and Bengaluru. The need of the hour is improved coordination among Forest Departments in all three States to create connectivity, restore habitats and mitigate incidents of human-animal conflict

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed an elephant pass in the Sanamavu Reserve Forests (RF) near Hosur, along the NH 844, to enable elephants to migrate from the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh and back. But the existing highway, NH 44 connecting Chennai and Bengaluru, that runs parallel to NH 844, continues to carry heavy traffic and what has been nearly forgotten, is that in the not-so-distant-past, there was a proposal for three eco-bridges on this highway.

In its application before the Supreme Court for the removal of 901 trees in the Sanamavu Reserve Forest of Krishnagiri, the NHAI has said that the NH 844 is part of Bharatmala, connecting Bangalore Urban District (Karnataka) to Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu). As the NH 44 could not be made eight-laned due to the Hosur region becoming an industrial hub, it was decided to improve this existing alternative road, earlier SH 17 and now upgraded as NH 844, in order to avoid congestion in Hosur town. NHAI also said the travel distance would be reduced by 19 km between the two cities, and after completion of the project, it is expected that around 40% of traffic on NH 44 will be diverted to NH 844. The alignment plan submitted along with the application has a provision for an elephant underpass.

“There are definitely elephants crossing in the Sanamavu Reserve Forest along NH 844. That is why we have designed an underpass,” says an NHAI official. The NHAI document states that human – elephant encounters in the area are a regular occurrence. Elephant herds usually comes out of the RF and damage crops and sometimes challenge human life in the villages of Beerjapalli, Aagaram, Azhiyalam and Podur Pallam, adjoining the forest.

Though the highway passes for one km along a forest stretch, the proposed elevated corridor will have eight 30-metre stretches, spanning to a total length of 240 metres, with a 4.5 metre vertical clearance section, costing ₹47.03 crore.

Asked if there were plans to have a similar underpass on NH44 as well, NHAI officials said there was a discussion some years ago about this, but there was no current proposal.

The need for eco-bridges to restore migratory elephant corridors on NH44, first began in 2016. After a major accident in June that year involving the death of elephants, the then Krishnagiri District Collector held a meeting of line departments and discussed ways to avoid frequent fatal accidents.

All senior officials in the district inspected the area and then discussed the construction of eco-bridges at five points. The District Collector directed the NHAI Krishnagiri unit’s project director to submit a proposal for the construction of eco-bridges at three important crossing points – Sanamavu, Kamandoddi and Melumalai, where elephants were frequently crossing the highway.