M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Nov 30: A team of engineers from the state road construction department (RCD) is conducting a detailed survey of two roads that lie in the Palamu Tiger Reserve. The team is assisted by the executive engineer and others from Latehar road construction.
The roads are Kaer-Labher and Chhipadohar-Matnaag which are used by both men and wildlife. About two weeks ago, the Engineer-in-Chief of the state RCD department Jai Prakash Singh also inspected these two roads.
These roads see snakes, lizards, monkeys, langurs, squirrels etc getting crushed under the wheels of the vehicles. The frequency is more on the Kaer-Labher road.
As per sources, PTR is serious to have different highly usable roads instead of the existing ones between Kaer and Labher and Chhipadohar and Matnaag for the 5 villages here. The proposal of alternative passages hardly below 10 km each will be beneficial to the people of Kaer, Labher, Chhipadohar, Matnaag, Juruhur etc as it will reduce man-animal conflict besides wildlife having a peaceful to and fro.
A railway crossing is further a hurdle to both man and elephant as about 6 or 7 years ago a male elephant had damaged the railway boom at this railway crossing. The new passage will have no issue of the railway crossing and thus villagers will have free movement without bothering for trains to pass first.
Sources said the move of the tiger reserve Palamu is quite villager-friendly as the emergence of a new passage for as little a distance as 10 km or so will expose these 5 villages to market, trade and growth.
Deputy director North division of the PTR Kumar Ashish said “The RCD team is conducting the survey. It is looking at every aspect like procedural shifting and feasibility.”
Ashish said the RCD team is of the view that shifting into a new passage is too beneficial to the villages as the new passage will bring them too closer to markets and trading which in due course of time will boost their daily income.
