Movement of heavy vehicles allowed in Kawal

After a 12-year ban, movement of heavy vehicles has been permitted in Kawal Tiger Reserve between 6 am and 9 pm, with toll charges levied for environmental regulation

Mancherial: Movement of heavy vehicles has been allowed in Kawal Tiger Reserve. A decision to this effect was made at a meeting of the Wildlife Board conducted in Hyderabad recently.

According to the order, heavy vehicles were allowed to pass through the reserve from 6 am to 9 pm. An environmental toll of Rs 150 is going to be charged from owners of heavy vehicles carrying a weight of 10 tonnes, while Rs 50 is collected from owners of cars for permitting use of the stretch.

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Movement of heavy vehicles was banned in the reserve as part of conservation of tigers since creation of the reserve in 2012. However, locals have been demanding to lift the ban for quite a long time. Forest officials carried out surveys to assess impact of vehicular movement in the reserve. Accordingly, the board gave its nod.

The core zone of the reserve spans 893 sq km and buffer zone in 1,120 sq km covering certain forests of the four districts, Adilabad, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Nirmal and Mancherial. It is a home to 675 species of flora. It was the 41st reserve to be established in the country and is regarded as the country’s 12th largest facility.