Nagpur: Bad news for wild-life lovers! A herd of wild boars crossing the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg got hit by a speeding vehicle early on Tuesday morning. In this accident, 14 wild boars were crushed to death by the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle fled the spot fearing police action, media reports said.
According to the reports, this incident took place at Borgaon village on the newly commissioned Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg. Other people passing through the route informed the police about this mishap. Waifal Toll Post police employee Balu More of Highway Police Help Centre Khursapar informed the patrolling team. Carcasses of the wild boars were strewn far and wide on the road and it was visibly soaked in blood.
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Monday 10 Feb. 2025
After reaching the spot, the police first smoothened the traffic, then informed the forest department. Butibori Forest Range Officer P N Wade, Forest Guards DS Gite, Nilesh Navale, Janardhan Lonare, Forest Laborer BL Hattewar, Someshwar Turapkar, Ratnakar Chake reached the spot. After this, the carcasses of all the animals were removed from the Expressway after conducting a panchnama.
According to the reports, the incident occurred an hour after midnight on the Expressway. Technically, there is no forest but the spot falls under Butibori range.
The accident has once again proved that sufficient wildlife mitigation measures have not been taken on the prestigious expressway. “The much-hyped wildlife mitigation measures were taken only in corridor patches considering big mammals like tigers and leopards. This will not serve the purpose as wild animals like nilgais, deer, and boars will continue to die mercilessly,” said green activist Shrikant Deshpande.
The 520km e-way was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11. In the last month, more than 50 wild animals including deer, nilgais, monkeys, besides stray dogs have died in vehicle hits. The e-way has also claimed the lives of seven persons in accidents.
Two family members of Nagpur lawyer Anand Joshi died on December 29 after an animal allegedly came across their speeding vehicle near Karanja Lad on Samruddhi. While Joshi’s wife and younger daughter died on the spot, he and his elder daughter are still undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, Butibori forest officials have written to MSRDC officials in Nagpur, seeking a report about steps taken to avoid such incidents. Sources said the spot where the incident took place did not have cement precast barriers.
