Paradip: Tourist and locals were in for a shock when they found hundreds of Olive Ridley turtles dead on the stretch of the sea beach from Hanuman Temple to Sandhakuda in Paradip, Jagatsinghpur district on Friday morning.
Envrionmentalits and natives said there are no two guesses behind the cause of the deaths. It has to be the trawlers or fishing nets.
This is the first time that Olive Ridley turtles have died on such a mass scale here.
The sight of stray dogs scavenging on the turtles made for a ghastly and pitiable sight. The stench emanating on the beach suggests that some of them may have died a few days ago. “We felt sad to see so many Olive Ridley turtles dead. The officials should remove the carcasses as early as possible as it is stinking and the environment is getting polluted,” said a tourist.
“Olive Ridley turtles are not safe at all here. The state government has failed to take steps for their safety or else so many of them would not have died at the same time,” said a native of Paradip.
The Deputy Forest Ranger, Manash Das has appointed personnel to remove the carcasses of the Olive Ridley Turtles and bury them.
The unfortunate incident happened despite the fact that fishing by motorised vessels or trawlers and mechanised techniques has been banned within 20 km from the specified coast of the sea comprising sea turtle congregation area and their buffer zones in the three river mouths – Dhamra, Devi and Rusikulya. The ban was imposed on November 1 2019 and is in force till May 31.
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