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CM accused of inaction to save turtles
New
Delhi: The Environmental activist group Greenpeace today held a demonstration
outside the New Delhi residence of Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik
blaming him of not taking enough action to save endangered Olive Ridley
turtles. "We have come here to the chief minister of Orissa. As custodian
of the state he is responsible for these marine wonders", said Ashish
Fernandes, Greenpeace activist. Highlighting the plight of the Olive Ridley
turtles that get killed by trawlers every year when they come to the Orissa
coast for laying eggs, Fernandes said: "With such high mortality rate
of 10,000, maybe 20,000 turtles dying every year. It is only matter of
time before this population goes extinct". The activists laid out carcasses
of turtles at the entrance of Patnaik's temporary residence and also presented
a report on the status of these endangered species. Greenpeace has documented
over two thousand dead turtles along the coast of state, with vast majority
of these deaths caused by illegal fishing, particularly trawling, in no-trawling
zones. Wildlife officials say over 250,000 turtles make their annual trek
to the nesting sites. In 2004 over one million turtles came to the Orissa
shores to lay eggs with the largest concentration being at Gohirmatha
beach. The state government has declared the whole nesting area a marine
sanctuary and has banned mechanised trawlers in the state. Besides it
has also urged local fishermen to include Turtle Excluding Devices in
their fishing equipment. However, these steps have not yet yielded any
positive outcome as large scale death of turtles continues to take place.
-April 14, 2006
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