Restoration of Corridors to Facilitate the Movement of Wild Asian ...

Restoration of Corridors to Facilitate the
Movement of Wild
Asian Elephants in Rajaji-Corbett
Elephant Range, INDIA
Er.A.P.Singh
Er.R.Chalisgaonkar
Roorkee,INDIA
May2006
1

OBJECTIVE
IndiahasthelargestnumberofWildAsianElephant s(19,000to29,000)andhas
a discontinuous distribution in northern, eastern a nd southern ranges. North-
Western Elephant Range is among the important eleph ant areas in India and
Rajaji and Corbett National Parks along with Lansdo wne Forest Division and
Sonanadi Forest Division are the main important hab itat in this range.
Development of railline, highways, irrigation and h ydroelectric canals,industrial
establishments, human settlements along the migrati on corridors have
fragmented the area and adversely affected the migr atory movements of the
elephants.Thesecorridorsarehowevernecessaryto facilitatedispersalandthe
migrationprocesses,whicharecriticaltospecies persistence.
The report suggests the alternatives and modifications in the man
made (Civil Engineering) structures to facilitate the movement of
Elephants, save this endangered species from extinction and avoid
the animal-human conflict in the Rajaji –Corbett Elephant Range.
Detailed project has been formulated on the basis of elephant’s
behaviour towards the different existing civil engineering structures
in and around the habitat for the construction of the new passages
and modification/restoration of the existing structure at different
locations. The estimated project will cost approximately 4.5 million
U S Dollar.
Itisexpectedthattheproposalssuggestedinthe reportshallbeabletorestore
thelostcontinuityinthemovementofelephantsin theRajaji–CorbettElephant
Range,Indiatoagreatextent.
Er.AjayPalSingh
ExecutiveEngineer,UttarPradeshStateIrrigation Department
MadhyaGangaCanalDivision
Meerut,(U.P.),INDIA
Er.RajendraChalisgaonkar
ExecutiveEngineer,UttarakhandStateIrrigationDe partment
Dehradun–248001,INDIA
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CONTENTS
S.No. Title Page
No.
1. Introduction 4
2. Rajaji–CorbettElephantConservationRange 6
2.1 RajajiNationalPark 6
2.2 CorbettNationalPark 7
2.3 ChillaMotichurCorridor 7
2.4 Rajaji–CorbettCorridor 7
3. PsychologyandBehaviourofElephants 8
3.1 Migration 8
3.2 PsychologyandBehaviour 8
3.3 FoodHabits 8
4. ProblemsFacedbyWildAsianElephantsinand
8
aroundRajajiNationalPark
4.1 Haridwar–Rishikesh/DehradunHighway 9
4.2 Haridwar–Rishikesh/DehradunRailline 9
4.3 ChillaPowerChannel 9
4.4 EasternGangaCanal 9
4.5 Kotdwar–Lansdowne/PauriHighway 10
4.6 RecentIncident 10
5. BehaviourofElephantsandtheRequirementforthe
DesignofPassages
11
6. Solution:ConstructionofEcofriendlyStructures for 12
Elephants
6.1 ConstructionofElevatedHighways 12
6.2 ConstructionofEcofriendlyOverpasses 13
6.3 EcofriendlyBridgesontheChannels 14
6.4 WaterTanks–AnAlternateSourceofWater 15
7. ProposaltoFacilitateMovementofElephantsin
Rajaji–CorbettElephantRange
7.1 MitigationStructuresforRaillineandRoadb
MotichurandRaiwalatown
etweenriver
7.1.1 Construction of elevated highway bridge for the ro
only(Alternative-I)
ad
7.1.2 Construction of combined overpasses on the west side
ofriverGangesonRailroadandHighway(Alternat ive-II)
7.2 Rivertrainingworkstoprotectleftbankofr iverMotichur
andrestorationofforestpatchuptotheriverGa nga
7.3 ExtensionofBridgeonChillaPowerChannelat
chainage12.50km
7.4 ConstructionofWaterTanksinRajajiNational
ChillaPowerChannel
Parknear
7.5 ConstructionofNaturalPassageovertheexist ing
Kotdwar–Lansdowne/PauriRoad
8. CostofProposal 25
9. Conclusions/Recommendations 25
3
16
16
16
16
20
21
22
24

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Habitatfragmentationisaproblemfacedbymanysp eciesallovertheworlddue
toexpansionsinurbansettlementsandinfrastructu redevelopmentalactivities.It
hasdestroyedandfragmentedthehabitatsofanimal sandduetofragmentation,
themigrationbetweenthesefragmentedareashasbe engreatlyhampered.Asa
result many species are threaded in their existence , some even facing (local)
extinction.
OneofthespeciesfacingtheseproblemsistheAsi anelephant,astheyrequire
largeareasofnaturalrangethananyothermammal speciesintropicalAsia,and
therefore are one of the main animals to suffer the consequences of
developmentalactivities.Theirnumbersarereduced toaround35,000to50,000
inthewild.ThepresentdistributionoftheAsian elephantcoversonlyafractionof
itsformerextensiverange,andincludes13countri es,stretchingfromtheIndian
subcontinent in the west to Indochina in the east. They inhabit a land area of
about 444,000 km 2 , out of which only about 130,000 km
4
2 (30%) has been
declared as protected area. Elephant population in Asia is small in size and
highly fragmented, with fewer than 10 populations c omprising more than 1000
individualsinacontiguousarea(Kemf&Santiapill ai,2000).
AFRICAN:400,000-600,000
ASIAN:35,000-50,000
INDIAN:19,000-29,000
NORTH WESTERN ELEPHANT RANGE
(ELEPHANT POPULATION : 1,500)
Fig.1-PresentGeographicDistributionofAsianEle phants
India has the largest number of Asian elephants in its wild (19,000 to 29,000).
Population of the Asian elephants in India nowadays has a discontinuous
distributioninnorthern,easternandsouthernrang es.Theyarelargelyrestricted
to the foothill areas because their natural habitat in the fertile river valleys has
been taken over by humans for agriculture, industri al and other purposes.
Keepingthisinview,theGovernmentofIndiaenact edaWildLifeProtectionact
in1972(schedule–I)andhasdeclaredtheelephan tsas Endangeredspecies
byputtingitinthefirstofthesixthscheduleof animals&plants.Simultaneously
in 1975, this flag ship species is classified as Endangered and listed in

Appendix Iof the Conventionon International Trade inEndangeredSpecies of
FloraandFauna(CITES).
Inthepast,theelephants usedtomigratefreelyi nthefoothills ofHimalayas in
search of water and fodder from river Yamuna to riv er Brahmaputra covering
nearly1300km.Mostlytheelephant'shabitatsare neartheperennialriversand
manycivilengineeringstructuresarealsoconstruc tedontheperennialriversto
drawwaterforirrigationandgeneratingpower.Man ycivilengineeringstructures,
suchasraillines,highways,canals,etc.construc tedinthehabitatsandmigration
corridors, have adversely effected the movement of elephants and fragmented
long migratory routes in isolated zones. According to the 2005 census of Wild
Asian Elephants, there are about 1510 elephants bet ween river Yamuna and
Indo-Nepal border in the northern region of state o f Uttaranchal, which extend
overalengthof400kmandfragmentedintosevera lisolatedzones.Themajor
four fragmented zones, which harbours about 90 perc ent of the elephant
populationoftheNorthWesternElephantConservati onZonearebetween
(i) riverYamunaandriverGanges
(ii) riverGangesandriverKho
(iii) riverKhoandriverKosiand
(iv) riverKosiandriverSharda.
In these zones, the hilly torrents are notvery ste ep, passes through the deep
forest facilitating the movement of wild elephants, but various structures
constructed on these hilly torrents cause hindrance in the movement of
elephants.
Fig.2-NorthWesternElephantConservationRange
5

2.0 RAJAJI–CORBETTELEPHANTCONSERVATIONRANGE
Rajaji National Park and the Corbett National Park with Lansdowne Forest
Division and Sonanadi Forest Division are the main important habitat of
elephants in this range. Development of railroads, highways, irrigation and
hydropower channels, industrial and residential est ablishments near the river
banks, humansettlements along the migrationcorrid ors aremainly responsible
forthefragmentationofthehabitatofelephants(F ig.3).Nowadays,thecorridors
betweenRajajiNationalPark andCorbettNational Park,necessarytofacilitate
dispersal and the migration processes, critical to species persistence, are no
longerusedbyelephantsduetovarioushurdles.Fu turedevelopmentalprojects
intheareawithoutpropermitigationmeasureswill worsentheproblem.
2.1RajajiNationalPark
Fig.3-LinearDevelopmentsinRajajiNationalPark
TheRajajiNationalParkislocatedinthefoothill sofShivalikrangeandGarhwal
Himalayas between 29 0 52’ to 30 0 16’N and 77 0 52’ to 78 0 22’E in Haridwar,
DehradunandPauridistricts ofUttaranchal.Theal titudeofthe mainportionof
theparklies around365maboveM.S.L.The Ganges f lows 24kmthroughthe
parkdividingitintotwounequalhalves,withaco reareaof820km 2 .Thewestern
portionoccupies571km 2 (rightbank)andtheeasternportioncovers249km
6
2 (left
bank). The park has significantconservationvalues . It includes alarge areaof
thefragileShivalikecosystem.Thefaunaandflora ofthis regionaresimilar to
that of the Himalayan and the Gangetic Plains. The Asian Elephant ( Elephas
maximus) is the most important flagship specie found in th e Park. The Rajaji
NationalPark(820km 2 )consistsofmainlymoistdeciduousforestswithr iparian
forests alongtheriver.Thereareapproximately41 6Asianelephants(79males,
187femalesand150calves)inthisParkasperthe 2005censuscarriedoutby
the park authorities. Other common herbivores livin g in the park are Sambar,
Chital, Barking Deer, Goral, Nilgai, Common Langur and Rhesus Monkey.
Omnivores present in the park include Sloth Bear, W ild Bear and Indian Palm

Civet and the carnivores present are Tiger, Leopard , Wild Dog, Jackal and
Hyaena.
2.2CorbettNationalPark
The Corbett National Park (521 km 2 ) is the homeland of approximately 560
elephants (84males,274females and202calves) as per 2005cencus carried
outbytheprojectauthoritiesandlies110kmint heeastfromriverGanges.Both
national parks, together with the areas connecting them, form the North –
Western elephant range (about 4000 km 2 ), is homeland of 1510 Wild Asian
Elephants.
2.3Chilla-MotichurCorridor
TheChilla-Motichurcorridorliesacrosstheriver Gangesandconnecttheeastern
(249km 2 )andwestern(571km 2 )partoftheRajajiNationalPark.Thecorridoris
approximately3kmlongand1kmwide.ThisCorrido risformedbythe Motichur
torrentonthewestbankand Sonisot,Mundal and Ghasiramsot torrentonthe
eastbankjoiningtheriverGanga.Mainlythesetor rentsformthepathwayforthe
elephantsuptotheriverGanga.Onthewestbank,t hecorridorisintersectedby
the Haridwar-Rishikesh/Dehradun road and rail line. The right bank of river
Motichurisunderintensehumanhabitationwhereas theleftbankhas anarmy
camp.Theforestpatchontheleftbankconnecting riverGangahasbeenwashed
awayduetofloods.
Theeasternsideofcorridorontheleftbankofri verGangaisintersectedwidth
wisebywideanddeepchannelofChillaHydropower Project.Aroadbridgehas
beenconstructedonthepowerchannelatkm14.3fo rroutineinspection.Asthe
bridgeislocatedontheleftbankofSonisottorre nt,sooccasionallytheelephant
usethisbridgetocrossthecanalforgoingtothe riverGangaandothersideof
thepark.Thebridgeisonly5.0mwideandhaving 1.0mhighR.C.Cperforated
railling.
With thepresence of traffic on theroadandrail l ine roundtheclock,no forest
connectivity upto the river Ganga on the right bank , intense human habitation
aroundbanksofriverMotichur,andwideanddeepc hannelofChillaHydropower
Project without migration arrangements on the left bank of river Ganga, the
elephantmovementalongtheChilla-MotichurCorrido rintheRajajiNationalPark
hasbeencompletelystopped.
2.4Rajaji-CorbettCorridor
The Rajaji-Corbett corridor lies near the eastern b oundaries of Rajaji National
Park,near Kotdwartownacrossthe KhoRiverinthe LansdowneForestDivision
and connects the elephant population of both the Ra jaji National Park and the
CorbettNationalPark.Theentirewidthofthecorr idorintheflatground/lowlands
is under intense human habitation. Many times, the elephants try to cross the
riverkhobygoinguphillsontherightbankofri verKho,butduetothedifficult
topographyoftheareaandpresenceoftheKotdwar- Lansdowneroad,theyare
unable to cross over. The Kotdwar-Lansdowne road, c onstructed with steep
edges,intersectsthecorridorandrunsparallelto theRiver Kho.Highwallshave
7

also been built on inner side of the road to preven t landslide and these
constructions,togetherwithtraffic,preventeleph antsfromcrossing.
This corridor is also under threat due to intensive human dependency on this
area for daily fuel and fodder requirements by memb ers of local communities
(Badola,1998,Sunderraj etal .,1995).Presentlyonlybullsusethishillycorri dor
and the migration of elephant herds between the Raj aji National Park and the
CorbettNationalParkhasbeencompletelystopped.
3.0 PSYCHOLOGYANDBEHAVIOUROFELEPHANTS
3.1 Migration
An elephant is a long distance migratory animal. El ephants devote their three
fourth life in moving in search ofwater and fodder . In general, theystayin an
areaforafewdaysandmigratetootherplaces.El ephantsliketotakebathdaily
in summers and that too in deep waters. It has been observed that during the
warmweather,groupsofelephantstrytoreachwate rsourceinthenoonorafter
noon.Sincetheavailabilityofwaterandfodderch angesseasonallyinthepark,
the elephants migrate in the park to evenshorter d istances in search of water
andfodder.
3.2 PsychologyandBehavior
An elephant is a sensitive and intelligentanimal a nd likes to move in free and
quite environment. Whenever the herd finds any obst acle on the migratory or
movementtrack,ittries toavoidtherouteandsom etimes evenadoptalonger
path to fulfil their need. They generally move very cautiously in the group to
protecttheyoungerelephants.Theynormallymovei nherdinaspreadedpattern
butremaininvisiblerange.Babyelephantsgeneral lystayunderthemotherand
whenevertheycomeacrossanysteepditchorobstac le,themotherliftsthebaby
elephantwith her trunk.In general,thereisan in tense bondandlovebetween
theelderelephantsandtheyoungerones.Sometimes ,groupclashesamongthe
elephantsalsoresultsindeath.
3.3 FoodHabits
Theelephantsconsume75-150kgoffoodand80to1 60litreofwatereveryday.
Theirfoodconsistsofmostlygrass,tendershoots, twigs,barks,leavesandfruits.
4.0 PROBLEMS FACED BY WILD ASIAN ELEPHANTS IN AND AROUN D
RAJAJINATIONALPARK
In Rajaji National Park originally the total width of park (approximately 20 km)
was touching the river boundaries on both banks of the river Ganges. Due to
human expansions, the area of Rajaji National Park is very much fragmented
besides,theconstructionofroads,railroadsandc analshasleadtosegregation
oftheparks.Presentlyontheleftbank,onlytwo patches(approximately1.0km.
longpatchupstreamof Pashulok barrageof Chillahydropowerproject and4-5
kmlongpatchbetweentheChillapowerhouseand Haridwar barrage) andon
therightbankonlyonepatch(approximately0.2- 0.3kmlongpatchupstreamof
8

theconfluenceofMotichurtorrentwithriverGange s)oftheforestaretouching
theriverboundary.
4.1 Haridwar-Rishikesh/DehradunHighway
OntheWestBank(rightbank)oftheGanges,ahi ghwayrunsacrossthenarrow
Chilla-Motichurelephantcorridor,dividingthepar kintotwosegments.Initiallythis
wasaforestroadandthetraffic waslow.Butover theyears,thispassagehas
becomeavirtuallifelinetotheUttaranchalstate .Itnowexperiencesveryheavy
traffic,roundtheclockand soonthistwo-lanehi ghwayisgoingtobeupgraded
intoafourlaneexpresshighwayconnectingthesta tecapitalDehraduntoNew
Delhi.Manytimesthecrossingelephantschasethe movingtraficontheroadand
sometimestheystayontheroad-stoppingthewhol etrafficontheroad.
4.2 Haridwar-Rishikesh/DehradunRailline
Onthesamerightbank,arailtrackruns23kmin sidethepark,outofwhich18
kmisanaccident-pronezone.Thisraillinerunpa ralleltohighway(about50-150
mapart)betweenMotichurandRaiwalatowns–appro ximatelyin2.0kmlength.
It has become a busyroute with the introduction of several fast-moving trains,
mostlybetween5p.m.and11p.m.,justwhenelepha ntsusuallyliketocrossfor
goingtothewatersource,particularlytheriverS ongandGanges.Thesearethe
onlyperennialsourcesofwaterinthearea.Thefa stmovingtrains,especiallythe
trains runninginthenightareamajor threattot heelephants in this area.The
park has lost 16 elephants in eleven major accident s between 1987 to 2000,
besidesotheranimals.
4.3 ChillaPowerChannel
On the eastern side of the Ganges( left bank ) two canals split the area. The
northernone,a14.3kmconcretelinedcanal(44.5 mwideand9.1mdeep),is
constructed as a part of a hydropower project. Befo re the construction of the
canal, seven major torrents (dry riverbeds) were us ed by the elephants as a
pathwayfortheirdailymovementstotheriver.Now theelephantshavestopped
usingthesemovementpathsdueofthefollowingrea sons:
♦ thewideanddeepcanalformsabarrierwhichthey cannotcrossand
♦ the provisions made in the cross drainagestructu res are inadequate for
crossingoverbytheelephants.
4.4 EasternGangaCanal
Anothercanal(onthesamebank),moretothesou thhasbeenconstructedto
provide the irrigationto the BijnorandMoradabad districts inthestate of Uttar
Pradesh.Approximately19kmlengthofEasternGang aCanalinheadreachis
situated within theelephanthabitat.The canal is 26.0 mwide and 4.5 mdeep
and its side slopes are boulder pitched and lined w ith cement concrete tiles.
Manycrossdrainagestructuresonthetorrentshave alsobeenconstructedwhich
hasbadlyaffectedthemigrationofelephants.
9

Due tothepresenceof railroad, roadandthecan al, elephants are unable to
migrate inside the Rajaji National Park along river Ganges. As a result the
populationonthewestbankofriverGanges,believ edtobe311elephants(2001
census)isnoweffectivelycutofffromtheeastba nkherdsintheRajajiNational
Park.Besides,accesstothelegendaryriverGanges ,whichtheelephantsused
to visit daily for drinking, bathing and beating th e heat in summer months has
beenseverelyhampered.Thereforetheelephantsloo kforalternativesourcesof
water and food and as a result they enter human hab itation and croplands,
leadingtohuman-elephantconflicts.
4.5 Kotdwar-Lansdowne/PauriRoad:Rajaji–Corbett Corridor
TheRajaji-Corbettcorridorfacessimilarproblems. TheKotdwar-Lansdowneroad
traversesthecorridorandrunsparalleltotheriv er Kho.Thereisaheaveytraffic
onthisroadparticularlyduringthedaytime.This roadisconstructedwithsteep
edgesandhighwallstopreventlandslide.Theseco nstructions,togetherwiththe
traffic,preventelephantsfromcrossing.
4.6 RecentIncident
Duringarainyseasonin2004,amaleelephantmigr atedalongthenallahand
wasstuckinthesmallforestpatchbetweentheHar idwar–Rishikeshroadand
rightbankofriverGangesjustupstreamofBhimgo daBarrageinHaridwar.Lot
ofeffortsweremadebytheforestofficialstopu shthemaleelephanttocrossthe
riverGangestogototheforestareaontheother bank,buttheelephantrefused
to cross the river Ganges and ultimately, the eleph ant was tranquilized and
cartedtotheforest.Thisexampleillustratesthat theloneelephantwasscaredby
thesizeandflowofriverGangesbecausetheeleph antsseldomreachtheriver
Ganges in the park due to various artificial obstac les in their migratory route.
Althoughtheswimmingisaninherentpropertyinth eelephants.Theauthorsare
oftheopinionthatduetononavailabilityofsuff icientdepthofwaterintorrentsin
the park, the elephants have lost the art of swimmi ng and therefore the lone
elephantwasnotpreparedtoswimtocrosstherive r.
Duetothefragmentationofhabitats,migratoryrou tesoftheelephantshavebeen
closed; there is anunequal distribution ofsources of waterand food plants on
either side of various man made barriers in the par k. The unequal natural
resourcesmaycreateanecologicalunbalanceindue courseoftimebecause
♦ the alternate water sources do not have the suffic ient depth of water for
elephantstoswim.
♦ the alternate sources of water are generally locat ed near the human
settlements,pollutedwatermaycausesomedeficien ciesanddiseasesinthe
elephants.
♦ the mortality rate of elephant’s in-group clashes have risen. It has been
observedthatthegroupclashes areduetoassembla geofmorenumber of
elephantgroupneartheavailablesourcesoffooda ndwater,whenthewater
sourcesdryupintheupperreachesofthepark.
♦ Due to the blockage of migration routes, the bulls are not able to join new
herdssotherearechancesofinbreedinginplace ofcross breeding,which
willultimatelyresultingeneticdeficiency.
10

5.0 BEHAVIOUR OF ELEPHANTS AND THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE
DESIGNOFPASSAGES
Theattributesandtheireffectsdescribedinthep recedingparagraphshavetobe
implemented to determine the exact requirements for a passage for the wild
asianelephants.
Theelephantisalongdistancemigratoryanimal.T hepurposeofthismigrationis
to get water, fodder and a mating partner. They nor mally move in herds in a
spread pattern, but within visible range, often usi ng torrents or natural
depressionsastheirpathofmovement.
Elephantsliveinfamilygroups.Thereisintenseb ondingandlovebetweenelder
herd members and young calves. Trains passing throu gh at highspeeds often
divideherdsandthisunderstandablycauseselephan tstofeelthatcalvesonthe
othersideofthetrackarebeingthreatened.This situationcreatesconfusionin
the herd and may lead to elephants running into the train, particularly in the
night.
Theelephantisasensitiveandintelligentanimal andrequiresafreeenvironment
withoutanyhindrance.Iftheherdisdisturbed(fo rinstancebytraffic)orifitfinds
anyobstacleonthemovementtrack,ittriestoavo idtheareaevenatthecostof
travelling long distances to fulfil the same object ive elsewhere. They are not
readytoacceptanymanmadestructurewitharoof becausenoneexistsintheir
natural environment. This can be illustrated by the barrels of the Duggada
aqueduct on Chilla power channel(Fig. 4). The barre ls are six in numbers and
each 8.0m wide and 6.0m high and more then 100.0m l ong. The project was
commissionedin1982,buttilltodaytheherdshave notacceptedthesebarrelsto
moveacross.OnlytheBullsareusingthesebarrels formovingtotheotherside
ofChillapowerchannel.
Fig.4-DugaddaAqueductonChillaPowerChannel
Tworoadbridges(5.0mwide)havealsobeenbuilto nChillaPowerChannelfor
crossingthechannel.Thevolumeofroadtrafficon thiscanalroadislowinday
11

time and almost nil in the night. The first bridge is situated near the village
BhogpurandanotherneartheSonisottorrent.Thel onebullelephantusethese
bridges regularly for crossing the canal but the he rds are using the Soni Sot
torrent bridge occasionally in the night only. Sinc e the elephants live in herds,
width of the passage is also a very important aspec t to be considered while
designing bridges or passages. Due attention shall also be given to the visual
and acoustic disturbance tothe elephants by the mo ving traffic, while planning
anddesigningthestructures.
6.0 SOLUTION:CONSTRUCTIONOFECOFRIENDLYSTRUCTURESF OR
ELEPHANTS
Re-establishingthecorridorsinRajaji-CorbettNat ionalParksisnecessaryforthe
survivaloftheelephantssothattheycanhaveacc ess totheoriginalsourceof
water and other fodder requirements. It is the need of the day to plan the
developmentalactivitiesintheRajaji-Corbettarea insuchanecofriendlymanner
sothatthebiganimalscanadaptthemitigationst ructuresforcrossingoverfor
water,fodderandgeneticexchange.Dueattentions houldalsobepaidtoanimal
behaviour,economicalandsocio-politicalviability whileplanningcivilengineering
structuresinthearea.Someofthesuggestionsare givenbytheauthorsinthe
succeedingparagraphs:
6.1 ConstructionofElevatedHighway
If the topography/landscape permits then the elevat ed highway(Fig. 5) with
sufficientheadroomandwidespansofbridgecanp rovetobeagoodsolutionfor
Fig.5-ViewofanElevatedHighwayinU.S.A.ina ReserveForest
fortheSafeMovementoftheAnimals
12

mitigation of elephants across the road. However, t he elephants may get
disturbedduetothesoundofthemovingtraffican dglareoflightsinthenights
buttheproblemscanbemanagedwiththefollowing provisions;
• speedrestrictiononthevehiclesusingtheelevat edhighway
• complete ban on the blowing of horns of the vehicl es using the elevated
highway
• siderailingoftheelevatedhighwaybridgeshould bemadesufficientlyhighso
thattheglareoftheheadlightofthevehiclesh ouldnotfallonthemovement
trackoftheelephants.
• look of the structure should match to the sorround ing landscape by using
differentcolouringpatternontheoutersideofth estructure.
• Theedgesoftheconcretestructureberoundedoff insteadofsharpcorners.
• Thespeedofthevehiclesusingtheelevatedhigh waybetween11.00PMto
2.00AMberestrictedto15-20km/hrtoreducethe disturbance.Thistimeslot
canhelptheelephantstocrosstotheothersideo fforest.
6.2 ConstructionofEco-friendlyOverpasses
The width of the overpass seems to becrucial for e ffectiveness, especiallyfor
larger wildlife, which do not use narrowbridges to cross over, particularlyover
railways or busyroads,wheredisturbance levels ar ehigh(Fig.6).Research by
Keller &Pfister(1997) indicates thatthe useofb ridges bymammals increases
whenthewidth50mormore.
Fig.6–Perspectiveviewoftheproposedcombined overpasson
raillineandroadinChilla–MotichurCorridor
The height ofthe overpass is an another important aspect.The best wayis to
locatethepassageongroundlevelsothattheanim alsdonothavetoclimbor
descend in an unnatural manner. Under ground constr uction of highway in an
area can solve the problemto a large extent. Howev er, if it is not possible to
13

construct an under ground highway, then the shape a nd size of the overpass
shall be designed, keeping in view the natural surr oundings, landscaping and
gentle upward slope so that it can be accepted by t he elephants for crossing
over.
Fig.7–ViewofProposedFencing
Thepassageshouldbebuildatasiteclosetoaha bitatandalongtheestablished
migration routes. It is important that the passage becomes a part of the
landscape,forminganaturalmigrationroute.Itis alsosuggestedthattheanimals
be guided with the help of fencing to reach the ove rpasses(Fig. 7) and the
extremepointsofthefencingbewellconnectedwit htheendpoint,sothatthey
donotcrossoverinthedangerarea.
6.3 Eco-friendlyBridgesonChannels
Eco- friendlybridgescanprovetobeagoodalter nativeforcrossingwideand
deepirrigationandpowerchannelsbyelephants,if theirshapeandappearance
resembles tothesurroundingenvironment.Existing bridgesontheChillapower
channel are common to vehicular traffic as well as wildlife. The width of the
bridgeandtheheightofsiderailinghasbeenfoun dtobeinsufficientforthefree
movementofelephantstocrossthechannel.Duecon siderationbegiventothe
requirementsofvariouswildanimalsforfixingthe size,shapeandappearanceso
that they can be accepted by the animals for crossi ng over. Some of the
recommendationsare:
♦ thewidthofthebridgebekeptatleast15-25mf ormovementofherd.
14

♦ thesidewallorrailingbemadeblinduptoahei ghtof2.75morblindupto
1.5 to 2.0 m with camouflaging up to a height 2.75 m with some locally
available creepers(Fig. 7) to match the appearance of the wall to the
surrounding forestsothattheelephants arenotvi sually disturbedby the
turbulentwaterinthechannel.
6.4 WaterTanks
Fig.8–ViewofCamouflagedSideRailingofaBrid ge
Artificial water tanks are also good alternate for the elephants as an alternate
sourceofwateraftertheblockageoftheiraccess tothenaturalwatersources.
Four water tanks have been provided alongthe exist ing Chilla Power Channel
andelephantscanbeseendailyatthesetanksduri nghotdays.Onthebasisof
the experience of the existing tanks, following rec ommendations are made to
enhancetheuseofartificialwatertanksbyelepha nts:
♦ Tank be made sufficientlylargeinsizeto accommo datebigherdandbe
constructedquiteawayfromthechannelinspection road.
♦ Sufficientforestcushionbetweenthecanalinspec tionroadandthetankbe
provided,sothatelephantsarenotdisturbedbyth emovingtrafficonthe
road.
♦ Circulation ofwater bedonebyproviding anoutle tto maintain the water
quality.
♦ Tanksbecleanedperiodically,atleasttwiceaye ar.
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7.0 PROPOSALS TO FACILITATE MOVEMENT OF ELEPHANTS IN
RAJAJIANDCORBETTELEPHANTRANGE
Basedontheexperienceandresearchcarriedouton thewildasianelephants,
thefollowingstructuresareproposedtobeconstru ctedalongthecorridorinthe
Rajaji–CorbettElephantRangetofacilitatemovem entofelephants:
7.1 Mitigation Structures for Rail line and Road be tween riverMotichur
andRaiwalatown
TheforestwidthbetweenriverMotichurandRaiwala townisbisectedbytheroad
and railline simultaneously. Both impediments run p arallel (50-100 m apart)
alongthefulllength.AsthenewstateofUttaran chalisinadevelopingstage,the
rail and road traffic will increase in the coming y ears and therefore proper
provisionforthefuturedevelopmentshouldalsobe madeinplanningthesizeof
the mitigation structures. The following two types of arrangement have been
proposedtoresolvetheproblem:
7.1.1 Constructionofelevatedhighwaybridgeforthero adonly(Alternative-I)
Afewplanners/researchershavesuggestedthatout of2000mlongroadreach
between river Motichur and Raiwala town, an elevate d highway bridge be
constructedin500-600mlengthonlytofacilitate crossingoftheelephants with
suitablefencinginrest1400m(i.e.2000-600)reac hoftheroadforrestrictingthe
entryofelephantsontheroadandtoguidetowards thepassage.Itcanbesaid
thateveniftheelephanthesitatetocrossoverto theothersideinthedaytime,
theywillcertainlycrossduringthenight.
There is a railway and road bridge on river Motichu r and levelcrossing of the
railline and road on the western end of the propose d elevated highway. The
proposed elevated highway be planned in such a way that the requirement of
road, railline and the level crossings are also ful filled. Construction of an
overbridge,inplaceofexistinglevelcrossingonr aillineandroad,ontheleftbank
ofriverMotichurandjoiningitwiththeeastend ofelevatedhighwayshallbethe
mostsuitable,economicalandviablesolutionfrom theelephant’smigrationpoint
ofviewatthelocation.Itwillalsoreducethedi sturbancelevelnearthemigration
routeofelephantsasvehicleswillnotstopafter theconstructionofoverbridge.
However,theproblemduetoexistingraillinerunn ingparalleltoroadwillremain
thereanditis also tobementionedthatmorethan 20elephants havealready
beenkilledbythemovingtrainsinthesameparko nthesamerailwaytrack.In
future,numberoftrainsonthetrackmayincrease andonemoreraillineparallel
to the existing line may be constructed, which may create hurdles in coming
years in the migration of elephants and the habitat on both side of the river
Gangamaybe permanantlyfragmented .
7.1.2 Construction ofcombined overpasses on thewestsid e ofriver Ganges
onRailroadandHighway(Alternative-II)
This routeis anageold migratoryrouteofelephna ts.Duetothetopographical
constraints, it is not possible to lower down the r ailroad and highways in the
16

underground tunnels and therefore it has been sugge sted that atleast two
number wide and flat combined overpasses on the rai lroad and highway be
provided in the area with suitable fencing. It is n ecessary to provide the
overpasses,asthewidthoftheforestintersected bytheroadandraillineismore
then2.0km.
Fig. 6 shows the details of the proposed combined o verpasses between river
Motichur and Raiwala town over railroad and highway on the left bank of
Motichur torrent. 16m wide, 8m high arches (keeping in view the future
development)have beenproposedtobeconstructedf orrailroadandhighways
separately.
While designing the overpasses, the width of the pa ssage be kept as large as
possiblesothattheelephantscancrosstogetheri naherd.Toavoidaudio-visual
disturbanceduetothetrafficontheroadandpass ingtrains,thepassageshould
haveaminimalwidthof100monthetopand150m attheentry/exitpointofthe
overpass.
Prefabricated reinforced cement concrete side wall railing of 2.75m (above
surface)heighthavealsobeenproposedintheenti relengthofthepassageso
thattheelephantsarenotdisturbedvisuallybyth emovingtraficontheroad.In
the vertical walls, few pockets also beconstructed and filled with the earth for
growing some local vegitation or creepers. Slope of 8(H):1(V) has been
suggestedtonegotiate8mriseabovetheground.St one/Brickmasonrywallhave
alsobeenprovidedinthewingwalls/sidestoretai ntheearthfills.Ithasalsobeen
suggestedtogrowlocalplants andgrass along the pathwayas depictedinthe
Fig. 6 to provide eco friendly environment to the animals for adapting the
overpasses. Water pools etc. be constructed at the entry and exit point of
structureforattractingtheanimaltomakeuseof anoverpass.Theauthorsare
oftheopinionthatiftheycrossonceandfeelsaf e,thentheywillstartusingthe
overpassesregularly.
It has been observed that good number of big plants exist in the proposed
alignmentofstructureandinsteadofcuttingthese trees,theymaybeencasedin
the structure to provide natural and congenial envi ronment to the elephants.
There are certain creepers, which grow on the walls and make the whole
structuregreenwiththeirleaves.Suchtypeofcre eperscanalsobeplantedon
the surface of the structure. Colouring pattern mat ching to the surrounding
landscapesmaybeadoptedforpaintingthestructur es.
Ithas alsobeensuggestedthatboththeoverpasses beconnected withthe75
mmdiametreand2mhighverticalsteelpolefence at1mcentretocentre,so
thattheelephantsdonottrytocrossthroughrail roadandhighways.Fig-7shows
the side view of steel pole fence near the overpass . The fencing should be
suitablytiedattheendoftheforestareasothat theelephantsdonotgettrapped
outside the fenced area. The fencingsteel poles ha ve to beproperly designed
and embedded because the elephants may try to dislo dge the poles, as an
elephant is a powerful and naughty animal. Drg. No. 1 depicts the Proposed
overpassbetweenriverMotichurandRaiwalatownov erraillineandroadforthe
movementofelephantsontherightbankofriverGa ngainRajajiNationalPark
U.A.
17

Drg.No.1 – DETAILSOFPROPSEDOVERPASSBETWEENRIVER
MOTICHURANDRAIWALATOWNOVERRAIL-LINEANDROADF OR
MOVEMENTOFELEPHANTSONTHERIGHTBANKOFRIVERGA NGAIN
RAJAJINATIONALPARK
Fig.9-ViewofCombinedOverpassunderConstructi onon
RaillineandRoadinEurope
18

Fig.11
19
Fig.10
Fig.12
ViewofOverpassesmadeonHighwayforDifferentSp eciesinDifferent
Countries

OtherMeasures
Ithasalsobeensuggestedthattheblowingofhorn softhemovingvehicles be
prohibited on the road/rail line around the structu re. The movement of local
peoples on the structure be restricted so that the elephants are not disturbed
whileusingthestructure.Elephantdroppingcanbe collectedfromtheforestand
placedneartheentryandexitpointofstructures othattheelephantscanhavea
feeling that the over pass is a part and parcel of the habitat. The elephant
move/migratenormallybetweenNovembertoMayevery year.Theconstruction
activity of the proposed structures should be plann ed in such a way that all
constructionworkiscompletedinoneseasonbetwee nMaytoNovember.Fig.9
shows the photograph of combined Overpass construct ed in the Europe to
mitigatetheraillineandroadsimultaneously.
7.2 River training works to protect left bank of ri ver Motichur and
restorationofforestpatchuptotheriverGanga
On the western side of the proposed overpass, there is a good connectivityof
forest.Whereasontheeasternside,theforestpa tchconnectingtheriverGanga
waswashedawayduetofloods(ontheleftbankof riverMotichur).Restoration
of this forest is very much essential for the movem ent of elephants upto river
Ganga, as it will provide the required level of sec urity to the elephants while
moving with infants andcalves. There are armyesta blishments /buildings and
AshramsontheleftandrightbankofriverMotichu r.Ashramshavebeenpainted
in different colours and lighting of electric lamps in the night and chanting of
bhajansetc.haveforcedtheelephantstoavoidusi ngthismigratoryroute.Asthis
is the only patch of forest which is connected to t he proposed structure, so
restorationofthisforestpatchismustforattrac tingtheelephant’sherds.
Fig.13–LocationofProposedMitigationStructure sinChilla–Motichur
Corridor
20

Construction of boulder bund, shanks, refilling of the back space between the
bundandtheexistingriverbankbytheriverbedm aterialetc.shallbeinvolvedin
the river training works and restoration of forest patch. Earth cushion over the
river bed material shall also be provided for devel oping thegreen forest in the
patch.
7.3 ExtensionofBridgeonChillaPowerChannelat chainage12.50km
On the east bank, the main obstruction is the power channel. The Soni Sot
torrentissituatedinfrontof MotichurtorrentacrosstheriverGanga,whichisthe
mainpassageofChilla-Motichurcorridor.Almostev eryday,theelphantscanbe
seenontheeasternsideofthechannelbridge,whe nthereisscarcityofwaterin
theupperreaches oftheforest.5.0 mwide concret eroadbridgeontheChilla
PowerChannelatchainage12.50km(Fig.14)hasbee nconstructedtocrossthe
powerchannel.However,thebridgeisnotbeinguse dbytheherdsforcrossing
thechannelduetoitssmallerwidthandlowheight ofsiderailing.Ocasionallythe
bull crosses the channel through this bridge. There fore, it is proposed to
modify/extendtheexistingroadbridgeonchannels othatitcanbeacceptedby
theherdsforcrossingovertotheothersideoffo rest.
Fig.14-PhotoofanexistingbridgeontheChill aPowerChannel
Ithasbeensuggestedthatthecentralpierandabu tmentsbeextendedonboth
thebankssothatthewidthofthebridgeatthece ntrebemadeas15.0mandat
thestart/end as 25.0 m. It has also beensuggest edthattheadditionalwidth
shall only be available for facilitating the moveme nt of the elephants on the
bridge. It is proposed that the additional width on both sides of the bridge will
have30cmearthcushionsothatlocalvegetationa ndgrassbegrownonthetop
surfaceofthebridge,whichwillprovidecongenial atmospheretotheelephants
foradaptingthepathforcrossingover.Sideraili ngsof2.75mheighthavealso
been proposed to be constructed of reinforced concr ete with 50% perforations
and suitable pockets for growing local vegetation a nd creepers. Drg. No. 2
depictsModification/Extensionproposedintheex istingbridgeonpowerchannel
of the Chilla Hydroelectric Project at km12.50 nea r Soni-Sottorrenton Chilla-
Motichur corridor in Rajaji National Park U.A to fa cilitate the movement of
elephants.
21

Drg.No.2 – MODIFICATION/EXTENSIONPROPOSEDINTHEEXISTINGBRI DGEON
POWERCHANNELOFCHILLAHYDROELECTRICPROJECTAT12 .50KM.NEARSONI-SOT
TORRENTONCHILLAMOTICHURCORRIDORINRAJAJINATIO NALPARKTO
FACILITATEMOVEMENTOFELEPHANTS
7.4 ConstructionofWaterTanksinRajajiNational ParknearChillaPower
Channel
Three Water Tanks of size, at least 30mX30mX2.5m ar e proposed to be
constructedontheeasternsideoftheChillaPower Channeltoaccommodatebig
herds. First tank is proposed between head of power channel and Bin torrent,
secondtankaround Duggadatorrentandthirdtanknearthe Sonisottorrentwith
a distance of 100-200 m from the canal bank with su fficient forest cushion or
earth mount between the tank and the canal so that the elephants are not
disturbedbythemovingtrafficonthechannelroad whiletakingbathordrinking
water. Approach ramp with 4(H) :1(V) slope may be p rovided to facilitate the
movementofelephantsinthewatertank.Itisalso suggestedthatthesteelpipe
connectingthetankfromthecanal befixedatsuc halevelsothatthewateris
availableinthetankroundtheyear.Totheextent possible,someexitforwater
fromthetankbeprovidedandifitisnotpossible ,thetanksbecleanedfrequently
formaintainingthequalityofwater.Proposedwate rtanksfedfromChillaHydro
PowerChannelforelephantsasalternatesourceof waterinRajajiNationalPark,
U.A.aredepictedin Drg.No.3.
22

Drg.No.3 – PLANSHOWINGDETAILSOFPROPOSEDWA
TERTANKSFEDFROMCHILLAHYDROPOWERCHANNELFOREL EPHANTSASAN
ALTERNATESOURCEOFWATERINRAJAJINATIONALPARK
Fig.15-ViewofWaterTankforElephantsconnected withtheChillaPower
Channel
23

7.5 Construction of Natural Passage over the existi ng Kotdwar–
Lansdowne/PauriRoad
TheKotdwar-Lansdowne/Paurihighwayis8-10mwide. Thevalleysideretaining
wall and the back hill slope of the road is very st eep. The authors are of the
opinionthatatthislocation,anaturalpassageac rosstheexistinghillslopecan
beprovidedbyencasingtheroadasundergroundby shiftingittowardsthehillso
thatthewidepassagescanbeconstructedalongthe naturalslopematchingthe
surroundinglandscape.Theminimumwidthofthepas sageisproposedas100.0-
150.00m. Drg.No.4 depictsthedetailsofthenaturalpassagebyenca singthe
roadundergroundinplaceofexistingopenroadon therightbankof riverKho
onKotdwar-Lansdown/Pauriroad.
Drg.No.4 – DETAILSOFNATURALPASSAGEBYENCASINGTHEROAD
UNDERGROUNDINPLACEOFOPENROADONTHERIGHTBANK OFRIVERKHO
ONKOTDWARLANSDOWN/PAURIROAD
24

Keeping thetopographicalcondtions in mind, it has beensuggestedthat16 m
wide,7mhighand150mlongundergroundtunnelwi thsuitableapproachesbe
constructed to pass the highway and the surrounding s be given natural shape
withforestandvegetationcoversothattheelepha ntscanstartusingtheageold
migration route again, presently hampered by the ro ad. Suitable fence should
alsobeprovidedonbothendsoftheroadforthes afetyoftheelephants.
Themonitoringofthesestructuresbysomebiologis tsmayalsobedonetoknow
theperformanceoftheprojectoracceptabilityof the elephanttowardsdifferent
structures. To monitor the acceptibility of structu res, elephants dropping, urine
andfootprints,etc.maybeobserved.Formonitorin gfootprints,earthbedshould
beconstructedacross thestructure andobserved da ilyduring peakmovement
times(BetweenNovembertoMayeveryyear).
8.0 COSTOFPROPOSALS
The cost of the proposed works for restoring the m ovement of
elephants in the Rajaji–Corbett Elephant Range, Ind ia have been
workedouttobeapproximately4.5MillionUSDoll ars.
9.0 CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
ElephanthabitatintheRajaji-CorbettElephantRa ngehavebecomefragmented
andthecorridorsbetweentheseparksarenolonger usedbytheelephantsdue
tohumandisturbanceandthebarriereffectofbusy roads,raillineandwideand
deepchannel.
In order to restore the lost migratory movement of elephants in the area,
constructionofUnderpass,Overpasse,alternatives ourceofwaterintheshape
of tanks and restoration of forest cushion along the corridor in certain areas
have been proposed in this report. It has also been suggested to increase the
width of the existing bridge on Power Channel with suitable fencing and eco
friendlyenvironment sothat the elephantherds can use thesame for crossing
over to the other side of the forest. It has also b een suggested that the
disturbancelevelbytheroadtrafficnearthemiti gationstructureshouldalsobe
controlled byreducing thespeed of thevehicles an d prohibiting theblowing of
horns.Sounddampnersmaybeerrected/placedbythe sideoftheroad/structure
toreducetheintensityofsoundofvehiculartraff icusingtheroad.Monitoringof
thepassagesregardingthemovementofelephantsby somebiologistsmayalso
becarriedouttoknowtheperformanceofvariousp roposalssothattheycanbe
adaptedatsimilarplaces.
It is also suggested that construction of various c ivil engineering mitigation
structuresaloneis notsufficientforrestoringth elostcontinuity.Co-operationof
thelocalpeoplelivingintheareasaroundthecor ridorshallalsoberequiredin
restorationprocessandthecorridorsshallhaveto beprotectedfromhumanand
othersettlementssothattheanimalsdonothavea nyhinderanceinthearea.Itis
also suggested that in future due attention be give n to the protection of the
corridor,whileplanningthedevelopmentalactiviti esinthearea.
*************
25