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| Orissa turtles face survival threat |
| Olive Ridley sea turtles will never have a say in
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| INDIA
, 23-April-2007
1:29:58 AM |
| Olive Ridley sea turtles will never have a say in the matter even if it involves their survival.
These turtles, killed in thousands every year along the Orissa coast by illegal fishing trawlers, might now find their centuries-old affair with Orissa ending.
Korean steel major POSCO plans to set up a captive port at Jatadhari mouth just 12 kilometres from the port at Paradeep and turtle lovers feel it could be the final blow to the endangered creatures.
''We have lost major turtle nesting beaches in Gahirmatha just because of one port and that is Paradeep port and if the POSCO project also comes it will add to this problem?
And ultimately we will lose whatever little nesting space which we still have in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary,'' said Biswajit Mohanty, Coordinator, Operation Kachchapa.
Now, Olive Ridley turtles are reduced to nesting in just three beaches in Orissa - Nasi islands in Gahirmatha, Devi river mouth and Rushikulya river mouth.
Severe beach erosion has driven the turtles away from the Rushikulya site this year. Gahirmatha is threatened by the new port projects.
And the state government is now considering a proposal for a port and thermal power plant at the Devi river mouth.
''The state government is hell-bent on destroying each and every mass nesting grounds of the Olive Ridley sea turtles in Orissa, forgetting that it's a unique natural heritage that Orissa should be proud of and which the state government and the people of Orissa should protect at all costs,'' said Biswajit Mohanty, Co-ordinator, Operation Kachchapa.
This is the same government that bans fishing in the turtle zones along the Orissa coast for six months a year, affecting the livelihood of thousands of fishermen.
The question then is, how can they clear commercial projects that will most certainly threaten this precious endangered species?
Story Finder 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
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