"Kaziranga National Park to Construct 34 km Wildlife-Friendly Elevated Road"

"Rs. 5,500 Crore Allocated for Wildlife-Friendly Elevated Expressway in Kaziranga National Park"

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced the allocation of Rs. 5,500 crore for the construction of a wildlife-friendly elevated expressway in the renowned Kaziranga National Park (KNP), home to the iconic one-horned rhinoceros.

This four-lane elevated road, which will run along NH-715 (formerly NH-37), will span three locations, covering a total length of 34.28 km and will incorporate the construction of two tunnels, as confirmed by the chief minister during a press conference.

The responsibility for this substantial project has been entrusted to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was recently handed over to the NHAI by the state Public Works department.

Sarma emphasized that the project will utilize a methodology that minimizes construction on the existing road to reduce the impact on traffic flow. Precast/prefabricated technology will be employed to expedite construction, with work prohibited after sunset to ensure minimal disturbance to the park's wildlife.

This endeavor represents a significant wildlife-friendly project, developed in consultation with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. It will feature elevated roads and tunnels designed as animal underpasses and overpasses, with adjoining animal corridors connecting to create a long elevated road, preventing animals from taking detours.

The overarching goal of the project is to implement long-term measures to mitigate the impact of the national highway on one of the world's most crucial wildlife areas, facilitating unhindered animal movement, reducing anthropogenic fragmentation, and maintaining smooth traffic flow, Sarma stated.

The Kaziranga landscape, which includes the Kaziranga flood plains and Karbi Anglong Hills, constitutes a single ecological unit. Animals, including rhinoceros, often face risks while crossing NH-715 from Kaziranga to Karbi Anglong, making the creation of safe passage through animal corridors a vital necessity.

During the flood season, the survival of wildlife in the area is heavily reliant on access to the hill regions of the landscape, and NH-715 acts as a barrier, dividing the once-continuous landscape into two separate regions. The presence of human settlements, tea plantations, truck parking lots, and commercial establishments on either side of the highway further contributes to landscape fragmentation.

Sarma also revealed that 80% of the cost for the tunnel linking Gohpur and Numaligarh will be covered by the NHAI, with the remaining 20% funded by the Defense Ministry, as it will be increasingly utilized by the armed forces.

Regarding the progress of the Rs. 2600 crore bridge over the Brahmaputra River, connecting North and South Guwahati, the chief minister noted that 78% of the project has been completed and is expected to open by March next year, alleviating traffic congestion in Guwahati. Additionally, the construction of the four-lane national highway from Kaliabor to Dibrugarh is slated for completion by 2024.

Sarma also mentioned the proposed Guwahati Ring Road Project, designed to alleviate congestion in Guwahati by providing an alternative route for traffic from West Bengal and Bihar to Silchar, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Tripura. This 121-km-long project will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 5800 crore, with 50% of the land cost borne by the Assam government.

Kaziranga National Park, aside from being home to the one-horned rhinoceros, is inhabited by a diverse array of wildlife, including hoolock gibbons, tigers, leopards, Indian elephants, sloth bears, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer, thriving in its elephant grass, marshlands, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests.

ET