India’s First Elevated Wildlife Corridor to Make Delhi-Dehradun Drive a Visual Delight: Jumbo Ride

Tourists traveling by road between Dehradun and Mussoorie will soon be rewarded with breathtaking views from a 16-kilometer elevated corridor that will allow unlimited animal movement beneath it. The wildlife corridor, Jumbo Ride is one of the key features of the Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun economic corridor, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone on Saturday.

The elevated corridor will go from Saharanpur’s Ganeshpur-Mohand to Uttarakhand’s capital, Dehradun. It would run along a 28-kilometer length of National Highway 72A between the Shivalik forest region, which is home to a diverse range of species, including elephants. While animals will be able to walk freely on the existing two-lane highway, the elevated corridor is projected to substantially reduce travel time.

The Rajaji Tiger Reserve is located on one side of the forest. The two-lane NH 72A, which runs up to Dehradun, Uttarakhand’s gateway, is noted for being busy all year, with trucks and buses clogging up traffic at times. The 28-kilometer stretch, which includes a 12-kilometer section linking Mohand and the Daat Kali shrine, is notorious for being a nightmare commute. During rush hour, a 40-minute journey can take up to 60 or even 120 minutes. According to national highway authorities, the mountainous terrain has 120 horizontal curves that decrease vehicle speed to 25-30 km/h.

Wildlife in the Shivalik hills, a sub-Himalayan mountain range that spans portions of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, is also being harmed by the traffic issue.