Aditya Birla Group and Brut brought nine everyday changemakers who turned intent into action as Force for Good Heroes. For the tenth episode, they turned the spotlight on a piece of infrastructure that stands for the same ethos of being a true Force of Good.
Building a Road Between Humans and Wildlife
India has the second largest road network in the world. The National Highways alone grew from 91287 km to more than 140000 km in the past decade alone. A wider road network means more connectivity but for some regions in India, especially ones in wildlife sensitive areas, it translates to more interactions between humans and wildlife.
What if it was possible for a road to tackle this threat head on by making passage safer for wildlife and road users? That’s what the ‘red road’ on NH-45 between Bhopal and Jabalpur tries to achieve.
Innovation with Intent
The National Highway cuts through the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve. The roads have been lined with a chain-link fence on both sides and several underpasses have been constructed to give animals a way for safer passage. However, parts of the route remain vulnerable, increasing the risk of human-wildlife collisions.
To address this, the red road was constructed in the Hiran-Sindoor section of the highway to urge drivers to drive slower and pay attention to their surroundings.
The red and black chequered design, owing to slightly elevated red thermoplastic markings, acts as a visual and tactile reminder for road users. Not only does the striking red colour make a driver alert, signalling that they’re driving through a sensitive region, the elevations cause the driver to feel a slight tremor till they clear the nearly 2 km stretch.
Mukesh Barman, a resident of a village near the Hiran-Sindoor section, says, “Ever since the red strips have been placed, the vehicle starts bobbling if we drive too fast; even the vehicle in front of us does so. Because of that, people drive slowly on that stretch. So, the vehicle stays safe, we stay safe, and the animals also stay safe.”
His sentiments are echoed by others that use the highway as their primary route of transport.
A Template for the Future; A Vision with Empathy
NH-45, like many similar roads across the country, is an example of habitat fragmentation where infrastructure like roads or tracks cut through wildlife corridors or areas like reserves and sanctuaries.
In those cases, it becomes imperative to design infrastructure keeping the conversation of their habitat and wildlife safety in mind.
The red road initiative’s success, thus, goes beyond one road– if it successfully reduces vehicle and wildlife collisions, it could act as a template for similar architecture across India, and a reminder that redevelopment doesn’t have to come at the cost of nature.
In this episode of Force for Good Heroes, we turn our attention to a road that does more than just connect two cities– it reimagines how infrastructure can be built in tandem with wildlife conservation and the protection of the ecosystems around it.
Sometimes, a true Force for Good can come from one powerful intention– to build better, with empathy and a vision that includes every life it touches.
In collaboration with Aditya Birla Group
