BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
NEW DELHI, 5 JULY 2023:
Uniion minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari has announced that the centre is planning to set up eco friendly cattle fence along highways to prevent highway accidents in India. The first such pilot project has been undertaken in section 23 of NH-30.
In a tweet today, Mr. Nitin Gadkari has stated that , “ We are planning to implement the Bahu Balli Cattle Fence along highways in India to prevent cattle from crossing the road and causing dangerous accidents that result in the loss of human life. The fence will be 1.20 meters high and will be installed on section 23 of NH-30 as a comprehensive solution. This installation will serve as a demonstration before the esteemed visit of Shri @narendramodi
Ji, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, to Chhattisgarh. “
“The cattle fence, constructed using bamboo, offers a fully effective and environmentally friendly solution. The bamboo is treated with creosote oil and coated with HDPE, making it a stronger alternative to steel. The fence has a fire rating of Class 1, ensuring safety, and aligns with the principles of #AatmanirbharBharat, which aims to make all highways sustainable and minimize harm to wildlife and cattle,”he further tweeted.
According to figures of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), every year, approximately 1.5 lakh people dies on India roads, which translate, on an average, into 1130 accidents and 422 deaths every day or 47 accidents and 18 deaths every hour as per the year 2021.
In 2020, the number of fatal road accidents was one lakhs 32 thousand. Each year the death toll and the accident cases are increasing.
In no other developed countries, there are dhabas ( roadside eateries), cattles roaming beside the highways leading to large number of fatal accidents. The average speed of a vehicle in the highways are 100 kilometres per hour.
With large number of highways and expressways coming up in the country under the Bharatmala Project in the coming years , there is an urgent need to address these serious issues of accidents due to cattle in highways.
There are 5 million stray cattles roaming in the streets of India, according to the 20 th Live Stock Survey reports.
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