In Uttarakhand, a 90 ft ecobridge built for reptiles to cross over

Dehradun, Nov 30: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has built a 90-foot-long ecobridge across a busy road in Ramnagar forest division of Nainital district to help reptiles cross the busy jungle road without getting crushed by vehicles.

The bridge was made up of bamboo, jute, and grasses was built over a period of 10 days at a cost of Rs 2 lakh across the two-lane Kaladhungi-Nainital highway, Indian Express reported.

The 5-foot wide, 40-feet high structure can take the weight of three adult humans.
It was built to provide a safe passage for the reptiles from the vehicles coming from both sides.

The bridge will have four camera traps for monitoring purposes and it will be studied as a model by the Forest Department, Ramnagar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Chandra Sekhar Joshi told the Indian Express.

The jungle, which is the home to many reptiles including pythons and monitor lizards is next to the highway to Nainital is a very busy one and a large number of vehicles ply on it during the tourist season.

Besides it being used by reptiles, the forest department hopes even leopards will use it to cross the area.