A post with a couple of images of an animal bridge on a highway is being widely shared on social media with the claim that these images are of India’s first animal bridge which is part of Delhi-Mumbai expressway. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Images of India’s first animal bridge which is part of Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
Fact: The images in the post are actually of an animal bridge in Singapore which is a part of Bukit Timah Expressway which connects the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve. NHAI has just proposed construction of animal bridges on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which is under construction. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the photos in the post led us to a Singapore based news agency’s article which carried the same images as in the post. According to the article, the 62-meter long animal bridge, first of its kind in Southeast Asia was constructed in 2013 as part of the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) in Singapore which connects the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve. However, the bridge was thrown open to common public for the first time in 2015 so as to give time for the plants to grow and the animals to get used to the bridge in the meantime.
Taking a cue from the article, we did a google search with relevant keywords which led us to a blog by Singapore government which talks about the bridge in the post as part of describing Singapore’s Sustainable Development Plans. Detailed information regarding the Eco link can be read here. Video describing the highlights of the bridge can be seen here.
In the light of the National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) decision to construct India’s first-ever animal bridge on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway which is under construction, images like those in the post are being circulated across social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, images of an animal bridge in Singapore are falsely shared as those of India’s first animal bridge which is part of Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
