The Kurseong forest division organised a campaign among vehicle drivers on Asian Highway 2 near Bagdogra on Wednesday night with an appeal to drive vehicles at a restrictive speed while crossing stretches that are known to be wildlife crossing zones.

The drive was taken up as a leopard was recently mowed down by a speeding vehicle on the highway at night.

Devesh Pandey, the divisional forest officer of Kurseong, said their staff
interacted with vehicle drivers, especially truck drivers who are not from the region and don’t have any idea of such zones through which wild animals cross the
highway.

During the campaign, they asked the drivers to drive at a maximum speed of 40 kmph along these stretches.

“If any animal dies after being hit by a vehicle, the driver would be booked
under hit-and-run case which can lead to imprisonment up to three years. We have also apprised them about the law,” the DFO added.

Last Monday, the leopard’s carcass was found near Bhuttabari near Bagdogra.

The campaign was held near the toll plaza in Hatighisha of Naxalbari. AH 2 connects Panitanki at the India-Nepal border with Fulbari at the India-Bangladesh border. Along with foresters, members of an NGO have also joined the campaign.

“There were four spots on AH 2 between Hatighisha and Bagdogra which have been identified as elephant crossing zones and marked for maintaining speed restriction,” Rikjyoti Singha Roy, a representative of Jumbo Troops- the wildlife NGO, said.