Even though time cards have been implemented for vehicles traveling to and from the Bardiya National Park on the highway, the number of wildlife accidents has not stopped.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
35 wild animals have died in accidents on the East-West Mahendra Highway in Bardiya National Park in a year.
The park office has stated that 35 wild animals were killed in accidents on the Mahendra Highway section from Rammapur Check Post to Chisapani in the last fiscal year.
The park's information officer, Assistant Conservation Officer Mahesh Neupane, said that the maximum number of 18 chitals were killed in the accident. He said that 5 langurs, 3 monkeys, and 1 leopard were killed in the accident. Apart from this, 35 wild animals including wild cats, deer, golden eagles, red deer, rabbits, mouse rats, peacocks, and wild cats have been killed in vehicle accidents in the previous fiscal year 081/082.
In the previous fiscal year 081/082, 30 wild animals were killed in vehicle accidents. That year, 30 people, including 18 chitals and a baby rhinoceros, died in road accidents.
Even though the administration has implemented time cards for vehicles traveling from Bardiya National Park to the highway, the number of wildlife accidents has not stopped. Park Information Officer Neupane said that most accidents occur at night. “The main reason for this is low visibility, and accidents also occur because some people drive recklessly,” he said.
Time cards have been implemented for vehicles traveling from two checkpoints along the 14-kilometer stretch of the highway from Rammapur to Shainbar. Time cards have also been implemented for vehicles traveling from 14-kilometer stretch of the highway from Armeni to Chisapani. However, time cards have not been implemented for government vehicles, ministerial vehicles, ambulances and other essential vehicles.
Former warden of the park, Ramesh Kumar Thapa, said that since the Amreni-Chisapani section of the highway is the most frequented stretch of the highway with dense forests, wildlife is often killed in road accidents. ‘While vehicles are moving on the highway, wildlife often gets into accidents,’ he said, ‘It is necessary to build an underpass/overpass bridge at this place.’
Ten years ago, an adult tiger was killed after being hit by a bus at Kunwabhar in Bardiya National Park under the Mahendra Highway. According to the latest census, there are 125 tigers and 36 rhinos, including wild animals, in the Bardiya National Park. The park estimates that the number of elephants here is 120.
