Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force Y. Madhusudhan Reddy on Tuesday said that his department is exploring the feasibility of creating overpasses at certain identified points on the Alipiri-Tirumala foot path for the safety passage of both trekking pilgrims and wild animals.
Speaking to the media, he said the department is considering forming a committee with officials from Dehradun-based Wild Life Institute of India, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Hyderabad-based Tiger Conservation Society, State Forest as well as TTD in order to produce a detailed proposal on the construction of said overpasses.
The construction of overpasses and underpasses mandates joint deliberations with the Ministry of Surface Transport and Indian Road Congress for the supply of civil structural designs. If the proposal is passed, it will serve as a win for the forest department and TTD in avoiding man-animal conflict.
Moreover, Mr. Reddy said the presence of five leopards has been detected on both the footpaths routes. While the movement of three have been captured in trap cameras set up on Srivari Mettu footpath, the rest are on Alipiri footpath.
The DNA analysis of the leopard which is believed to have mauled a six-year-old girl to death is yet to be matched. Once identified, the killer leopard will be detained at SV Zoo park in Tirupati and the rest in confinement will be let out into the wild.
Praising the precautionary measures adopted by the department with the assistance of TTD, such as, allowing the pilgrims to move in groups, installation of trap cameras, and more, he said the indiscriminate disposal of food waste and raw vegetables alongside the trekking route was attracting scavenging animals like deer, wild pigs, monkeys and dogs, which in turn, is contributing to the increased incursion of leopards and wild bears.
