The death of a leopard on Pipeline Road, adjoining Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in the wee hours of Monday has evoked sharp reactions from environmentalists.
Animal activists clamour for the arrest of driver of the ‘killer vehicle’
The death of a leopard on Pipeline Road, adjoining Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in the wee hours of Monday has evoked sharp reactions from environmentalists.
Their unanimous demand is to arrest the driver of the “killer vehicle” under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Leopard is a Schedule I animal, which means its a highly endangered species.
Six of the seven vehicles, which passed by the road after midnight, belonged to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The seventh one, a private vehicle, belonged to an officer with the Regional Transport Office.
Passengers of the BMC staff bus (MH-01-L-5275) were the first to see the leopard lying dead by the roadside around 6.50 am on Monday.
Sources said that there was a strong possibility of the wild cat being knocked down by the vehicle which passed the spot before the BMC staff bus.
Reacting sharply to the tragic death of the leopard, Maneka Gandhi, founder of People For Animals, said, “The driver (of the killer vehicle) must be immediately arrested, and vehicular traffic should be banned on this road.”
Bittu Sehgal, editor of Sanctuary magazine, said, “There is no cap on speed limits in this area.”
According to him, speedbreakers were a must to check the speed of vehicles passing by.
“There must be spot checks to establish time of passing of a vehicle through the check naka. Tab should also be kept on the time of its arrival at the next check naka through wireless. Spot radar checks should also be carried out.”
Sehgal said that there should be an unified control at the national park, with its director being a single-point authority. Only drivers authorised by the forest department should be allowed to drive BMC vehicles.
Dr PN Munde, field director, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, said, “As the area comes under BMC control, park authorities can’t do much. The only thing we can do is to construct a compound wall to prevent leopards and other wildlife from straying on to the road.”
Sighting of any wildlife on the road should be immediately reported to the park management. “A letter has been sent to BMC authorities to instruct drivers to be cautious while driving along Pipeline Road,” Munde added.
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