Mumbai’s SGNP wildlife to get radio collars as TBMs tunnel beneath park

One leopard will get a camera-fitted collar. Pic/By Special Arrangement

As tunnel boring machines (TBMs) churn through the hills beneath Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), researchers are preparing to track what happens above ground. For the first time, leopards, spotted deer, and sambar deer in the park will be fitted with radio collars to study their movement patterns and assess whether tunnelling activity affects how they use the landscape.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), in collaboration with the Maharashtra Forest Department, plans to radio-collar 15 animals - five leopards, five spotted deer, and five sambar deer. Researchers will monitor their movements before and after tunnelling to evaluate the project's impact on wildlife.

Camera collar

One of the five leopards will be fitted with a specially designed radio collar equipped with a high-definition camera to record video footage. A forest official told mid-day, "This collar is expected to offer rare insights into the behaviour of Mumbai's urban leopards, including their peak activity hours, how they navigate the forest and roads, and their reactions to encounters with humans."

Official Speak

Dr Bilal Habib, senior scientist, WII
‘We have received all the necessary permissions from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and other departments to radio-collar leopards, spotted deer and sambar deer in SGNP. The collaring exercise is expected to be undertaken post-monsoon, involving five leopards along with spotted deer and sambar deer. The objective is to understand how these wild animals use the SGNP landscape while the underground tunnelling work for the Thane-Borivli road tunnel is underway.'

Tunnel project at a glance

Cost: Estimated at more than Rs 14,400 crore

Purpose: To reduce travel time between Thane and Borivli and ease congestion on Ghodbunder Road

Tunnelling: Work began in April; another TBM has recently joined the excavation

Route: Includes an 11.8-km connecting road and two 10.25-km-long, three-lane tunnels beneath SGNP

Connectivity: Links Tikuji-ni-Wadi in Thane with the Western Express Highway in Borivli

Cross-passages: Planned every 300 metres

Speed: Tunnels designed for vehicles travelling at up to 80 kmph

Travel time: Expected to cut the journey by around 40-45 minutes

Fuel saving: Estimated annual saving of 10.5 lakh metric tonnes of fuel

Emissions: Projected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 36 per cent