Using speed laser guns ATR officials to strictly enforce speed limits

Motorists driving on the Mannanur-Domalapenta road in Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) limits beware of speeding! Forest officials will now be strictly enforcing speed limits using speed laser guns that ATR procured recently. The officials are using the speed laser guns now only to create awareness among vehicle users and will start penalising them if they cross speed limits after some time.

The speed limit for vehicles in ATR is 40 kmph but motorists seldom follow these speed regulations. With many motorists driving vehicles at high speeds, incidents of wild animals getting killed or injured in accidents are reported regularly. On Saturday morning, a spotted deer was killed after being hit by a car at Boredibavi near Vatavarlapally.

To ensure that the motorists stay within the speed limit, ATR officials procured speed laser guns to regulate and prevent accidents that were killing wild animals or causing serious injuries, a senior ATR official told Telangana Today.

The Mannanur – Domalapenta route is a high traffic zone as it leads to Srisailam. Despite sign boards in several places indicating the speed limits, most vehicles are driven at high speeds ranging from 60 kmph to 80 kmph.

As a



precautionary measure, the Forest department does not permit vehicles between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. on the route. Despite these measures, wild animals continue to get killed in accidents in ATR limits, he said, adding that about 40 to 50 incidents are reported every month.

“At present, we got a speed laser gun and trial runs are being conducted. There are plans to procure a few more but we will first create awareness among motorists on the adverse impact of over speeding in this region for a couple of months. After obtaining approval from higher authorities, fines will also be laid for over speeding,” the official explained.

Using the speed laser guns, the forest personnel will capture the images of the vehicles and would levy penalty on the violators. The speed laser guns will be stationed at strategic locations and armed with image, the patrolling vehicle teams and other officials would either stop the violators at Mannanur checkpost or Domalapenta end.

Last year, ATR officials had identified 22 accident prone areas and urged the R&B department to set up speeds breakers as a means to cut down the vehicles speed. There was no response yet, hopefully in the next financial year, they could be set up, a senior official from ATR said.