Rs 900 million has been allocated for the construction

Chitwan, January 19

An animal-friendly road, the first of its kind in Nepal, is on the cards.

It will be built along the Narayangadh-Muglin road section in Chitwan. The Narayangadh-Muglin road section is connected with Chitwan National Park that crosses through Barandabhar forest area.

One-horned rhinoceros, tigers, elephants and deer, among other rare wild animals, are found in the area.

The animal-friendly road will be constructed with financial assistance of World Bank. The bank is providing an estimated cost of Rs 900 million to build the road.

The construction work is slated to complete by April, 2017. Engineer Shiva Khanal, of the Narayangadh-Muglin road section project said the 2.8-km road at Aanpatari Check Post and 7.5-km road at Jugedi and Ramnagar was appropriated for animals so that they could reach the Narayani River to drink water.

He said even wild elephants could easily cross the road after it gets widened and made animal-friendly.

Chief Ganesh Raya of District Forest Office, Chitwan, said as many as four deer were killed after they were hit by vehicles along the road section in the last three months.

He added that many wild animals were killed and injured due to the narrow road. “Other road sections should also be widened to make them animal-friendly,” he said.