Leopard dies on Gurugram-Faridabad road, demand resurfaces for animal corridor

A female leopard -- 2 to 2.5 years old -- was found dead on the Gurugram-Faridabad road bisecting the Aravallis last night.

A local NGO alerted wildlife officials who reached the spot and took the body into custody for post-mortem examination.

“It appears to be a hit-and-run case and is surely a big loss for us. The post-mortem examination report is awaited. The animal was most probably hit by a speeding vehicle, leaving her bleeding with a head injury. Over-speeding vehicles at night on this stretch are surely a matter of concern," local Wild Life Officer RK Jangra told The Tribune.

Around 50 leopards are estimated to be living in the Aravalli stretch in Gurugram and increased sightings have been reported in the past. A leopard was reported dead in an accident on the same road in 2019. Traffic on this road has been consistently rising. Though local authorities had put up speed warnings in 2021, majority of the boards have disappeared or are severely damaged.

The issue is that the Gurugram-Faridabad road skirts Asola Sanctuary in the north and travels west to east. The area south of that is a huge part of the Aravallis where leopards breed. The animals travel between Asola and Aravallis -- north to south or vice-versa -- and have to cross the Gurugram-Faridabad road in the process.

Environmentalists have long been demanding a “wildlife corridor”, so that animals can cross the area without actually having to go through the vehicles.

For the past two decades, Haryana has been promising an animal corridor but nothing concrete has been done so far. The state is now planning to build a safari on 10,000 hectares of the Aravallis.

“It is a poor state of affairs. The government, while patronising cafes and hangout zones in leopard trail, has made zero efforts in leopard conservation in the area. The number of leopards in the Aravallis is rising and we are having more instances of these felines venturing on our villages roads etc. There has been no official leopard count for years. We were promised a leopard corridor almost two decades ago to ensure safe movement of animals in Aravallis but nothing has been done on the ground. The Gurugram-Faridabad road, despite being in the Aravallis, has heavy over-speeding traffic round the clock,” said local environmentalist Vaishali Rana Chandra.

Inspired by the Jhalana leopard sanctuary, the Aravalli Rejuvenation Board had, in 2023, planned a 15-km-long leopard conservation corridor to ensure sustainable conservation of the Aravallis. A brainchild of then GMDA CEO PC Meena, the trail was to be developed from the Bandhwari waste management plant to the Damdama Lake.

Development of waterholes, installation of solar pumps to ensure water supply in waterholes, development of grasslands and plantation of indigenous species was to be undertaken with GMDA funds. Besides, there were plans to erect watchtowers, inspection paths, ‘dos and don’ts’ signage, camera traps and CCTV integrated with the Integrated Command Control of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). The project eventually became yet another shelved attempt of Aravalli conservation.