Turtles found dead at Gauripada Lake in Kalyan

Turtles numbering around 50 were found dead at Gauripada Lake in Kalyan (W) on Saturday afternoon; six turtles were rescued alive in the evening

Around 50 turtles were found dead at Gauripada Lake in Kalyan (W) on Saturday afternoon. As soon as the turtles were found dead, locals informed the forest department, whose officials rushed to the spot.

Turtles found dead are floating on Gauripada Lake in Kalyan (W) on Saturday. (RISHIKESH CHOUDHARY/HT PHOTO)

The representatives of Wild Animal and Reptile Rescue (WARR) also joined the rescue operations.

As per WARR members, six turtles were rescued alive from the lake on Saturday evening.

“As of now, we have recovered around 50 dead turtles from the lake and the search operations are still under way. The locals claimed that the turtles were found dead since Friday. We have also informed the local civic body and the pollution control board to select the samples of the water and check the cause of the incident,” said RN Channe, Kalyan forest range officer.

“All the turtles that were found dead are Indian flapshell turtles. No fish was found dead in the lake,” said Suhas Pawar, secretary, WARR.