After the span of two decades, 80 newly hatched Olive Ridley turtles were seen heading towards the sea with their wobbly legs, at the Versova beach early morning on Thursday.
Environmentalists described the spectacle as a reward for the endless efforts by lawyer-activist Afroz Shah and his team who took up the task to clean the beach which was successful after a span of more than two years.
Shah exclaimed that the news was indeed a glad one for Versova beach. He said that 80 turtles had hatched just in the morning, after which they rushed towards the sea. He explained that earlier the beach was filled with piles of plastic which put up hurdles for the sea turtles who then stopped hatching their eggs on Versova beach.
Due to the joint efforts by activists and animal welfare groups, the turtles were able to safely get to the sea from the hatching site, which was around 35 metres from the shoreline.
As the news of the hatched sea-turtles spread, morning joggers and local residents rushed to the beach to relish the scenery. Social media sites were flooded with photographs and videos of the newly hatched turtles.
N Vasudevan, the State chief conservator of forests (Mangroves Cell) expressed his happiness after seeing the photos. However, he said that some locals had informed his department about not finding any traces of eggshells and was firm to inquire upon any such matter.
The return of the sea-turtles has cheered up the marine biologists who were concerned that nearly 80 to 90 per cent of beaches in Maharashtra were so damaged that they have become uninhabitable for the Olive Ridley turtles and are unable to lay their eggs.
Environmentalist D Stalin told TOI,
This is a very good development at the cleaned up Versova beach. However, care should be taken that the lights at the beach are made dimmer and the area cordoned off till the nesting period is fully over, as human poachers are a threat to these turtles. Also, bright lights may confuse the young hatchlings.”
Dr. Deepak Apte, marine biologist and head of Bombay Natural History Society revealed his concerns along with the happiness of the newly hatched eggs and said that the condition of beaches in Mumbai is alarming and is continuing to deteriorate gradually.
However, he was pleased by the consistent efforts by the citizens of Versova and credited them for the rare turtle nesting site at the beach.
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