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HYDERABAD: A 54-kilometre-long elevated road bridge that will take traffic over the Nallamala forests of the Amrabad tiger reserve promises to be a one-of-a-kind initiative in the country that could become a model for protecting forests and wildlife in other parts of India. The elevated corridor – a four-lane steel structure – to be built at an estimated cost of around ₹7,700 crore, will be another first, where a state government and the Centre are in complete agreement over the need to preserve a vast stretch of a forest, which is also part of one of India’s largest tiger reserves. In yet another probable first for a state government putting its foot forward and join the efforts to protect the Amrabad forest, its tigers and other wildlife for the future, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s government is learnt to have declared its willingness to foot 50 per cent of the bill — with 33 per cent of this amount, about ₹2,500 crore — being provided in the form of funding support, and the balance in the form of tax concessions on materials and other needs of the project. Though a formal announcement on the project is yet to be made, that things are moving ahead, and fairly rapidly was indicated by Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, who three days ago in New Delhi said that the Centre had approved the project. This corridor that will ‘fly’ over the forest which forms the core area of the tiger reserve will start near Brahmanapally village, around three km from Mannanur that forms the gateway to the reserve, and land near Eegalapenta close to River Krishna and the Srisailam dam. It will become part of National Highway 765, which cuts through the reserve’s core area on the ground. The road is a vital link to the temple town of Srisailam on Andhra Pradesh’s side of the Krishna River, and typically sees hundreds of vehicles – two wheelers, cars, buses, lorries and a number of tourist vehicles – every day with their numbers running into a few thousands on weekends. One of the biggest complaints for several years has been the fact that since the 55-km stretch runs through the core area of the tiger reserve, it is closed for all traffic from 9 pm to 6 am, resulting in a logjam of vehicles at the forest checkposts at Mannanur and Domalapenta and causing disruptions to travel plans of pilgrims headed to and from Srisailam towards Hyderabad, and from places in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Once the elevated corridor is completed, then traffic can flow round the clock on NH 765 over the Nallamala forests freeing up the forest itself for its resident wild animals, while the existing road will be allowed to be used by local residents in village enclaves such as Vatvarlapalli inside the reserve, as well as the traditional Chenchu tribal hamlets. There are plans to relocate Vatvarlapalli village from inside the heart of the reserve’s core to outside the forest area with the Centre and the National Tiger Conservation Authority already agreeing for denotification of 1,501 acres of forest land outside the reserve for the purpose. “The corridor work may be seen as disruptive to the wildlife by some but this will be temporary and once the project is completed, the forest will take over, as will the wildlife as was seen in the case of the Pench and Ranthambore wildlife corridors,” a senior state forest department official said.
