Green cover on fast track out down this road.

(From Indian Express)

Long before cars thundered down the Mumbai-Pune expressway at 120 kmph, the Wildlife Institute of India at Dehra Dun had estimated that the fragile forest cover along this stretch is home to 17 species of mammals and 135 species of birds. Today, over 4.5 lakh flowering shrubs may be dotting the fast lanes but restoring the rich green cover is still a long journey ahead. On a route where concrete cuts through an ecologically sensitive zone, why doesn't a traveller spot the Little cormorants, Blue Rock pigeons, egrets, Grey herons and coppersmiths? Natural migration routes have been disrupted, the rocky hillsides fractured. Tilting the eco-balance back on the wild side is not so easy, discovered forest officials recently. Several flowering plants, which flourish in house gardens, wilted from scorching vehicular emissions after being planted on the expressway. Now a new list of resistant plant and desert species for the problem patches is being drawn up. Deputy Conservator of Forests (Pune region) Anurag Choudhary says: ''Our two-year ...