Three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase I of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg between Nagpur and Shirdi, a blackbuck and grey langur, as well as a few stray dogs, died on the stretch. The 520-km-long section of the expressway was opened on Sunday, and the remaining portion, between Shirdi and Mumbai, is expected to be operational in less than a year. 

Following the opening of the expressway, a video of a blackbuck reportedly running on the road near Vaijapur in Aurangabad district went viral. Pictures of a dead blackbuck lying on the side of the highway median and a grey langur allegedly killed by a speeding vehicle are also doing the rounds on social media. It has also been claimed that around five stray dogs have been killed on the road.