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Prayagraj: New forest range for turtle sanctuary on banks of Ganga soon
During the last year, around 6,000 turtles of varied sizes have been released in the sanctuary. Interestingly, the area is also known for conserving Gangetic Dolphins.
The state forest department will establish a new forest range for the turtle sanctuary on the banks of the Ganga in Kothari village in the trans-Yamuna area of Prayagraj.
Earlier, the state government had issued a gazette notification for the proposed sanctuary covering 30km of the catchment area of Ganga and surrounding areas of 76 villages of Prayagraj, Mirzapur and Bhadoi districts.
“A proposal in this regard has been prepared and will be soon sent to the state government following which a team of officials and other supporting staff would be deployed at the sanctuary for its development and supervision,” said district forest officer (DFO) Mahavir Kaujalgi while confirming the move.
The new proposed forest range office will be set up on the banks of the Ganga in Kothari village of Urwa area of the Meja block of trans-Yamuna areas of the district. Apart from one ranger, eight forest inspectors, 16 constables and 12 other staff will also be deployed at the sanctuary.
A team of scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) visited this sanctuary recently and suggested establishing six security posts and 15 watch towers on the banks of the sanctuary. They were also informed about making this sanctuary into a forest range by the forest department officials and that the proposal for the same will be sent to the state government, the DFO said.
One of the senior scientists of the WWI team SK Gupta also suggested the need for steps to protect turtle eggs, for which a proposal will also be prepared, they added.
The turtles lay eggs outside the water on the banks of the river. In such a situation, their protection is a serious matter. Those places have been identified and the forest department is also preparing a security blueprint for special monitoring of the eggs, which is a vital part of the plan to help in increasing the population of turtles in the sanctuary and Ganga. Turtles have been released in the sanctuary and their conservation too has started, The DFO explained.
During the last year, around 6,000 turtles of varied sizes have been released in the sanctuary. Interestingly, the area is also known for conserving Gangetic Dolphins.
The sanctuary was notified as the country’s first freshwater turtle sanctuary under the Ganga Action Plan in 1989 and was earlier established in Varanasi. The concept of the sanctuary was combined with the plan to release carnivorous species of turtles for organic cleaning of the Ganga.
However, with construction work close to the ghats and a waterways project passing through the area in Varanasi, the turtles began to move towards Prayagraj gradually. In addition to this, in due course of time, when the state government banned sand mining in the area to save the nesting turtles, the problem of sand accumulation and increased sedimentation also created a new set of challenges.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) then conducted a feasibility study and found the Prayagraj-Mirzapur stretch of the Ganga suitable for relocating the sanctuary. This move finally got the state government and State Wildlife Board’s nod in 2019.
