The turtle was infested with leeches and could barely even move when she was brought to the rescue centre.
Queen- a 90 kilogram female Green Sea Turtle who was rescued in an extremely life threatening condition after being washed ashore near Chinchani at Dahanu by volunteers of NGO Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Association (WCAWA) was released at Dahanu beach by actor Alia Bhatt on Sunday noon.
The actor spent the afternoon understanding the rescue work being done by WCAWA, which along with Dahanu Forest Division runs the only Turtle rescue centre along the Mumbai west coast. "We had heard that Bhatt despite being such a big celebrity was extremely down to earth and also shared a lot of concern for animals and environment. She also has a huge popularity amongst the youth and hence we thought of approaching her for releasing Queen and to our utter surprise she immediately agreed," said Dr Dinesh Vinherkar, a wildlife veterinarian and turtle expert, associated with WCAWA who added that they also wanted the youth to get the message of the urgent need for turtle conservation from Bhatt.
The 3.3 feet long Queen, whose age is estimated to be around 30 years was infested with leeches and could barely even move when she was brought to the rescue centre. “We are extremely happy that Alia Bhatt decided to travel all the way to Dahanu braving the long traffic pile up caused by the Versova bridge repairs to release the turtle back in its natural habitat. She also spent time understanding our work and assured us her support in the future too,” said Vinherkar who nursed Queen back to good health.
He informed that the turtle underwent several tests and once the experts were sure that it could swim in the ocean it was decided to release her and since even Bhatt agreed to be part of this cause the turtle was released on Sunday during high tide.
“Its always an emotional moment for us when a turtle that is brought dying to us recuperates and is all ready to go back to its natural habitat. Most of the turtles we get are washed ashore after being hit by a ship's propeller or getting stuck in the fishermen's nets,” said Vinherkar who runs his own vet clinic at Vakola but travels every weekend for treating turtles and other reptiles rescued by WCAWA volunteers.
Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) for Thane Territorial, Sunil Limaye praising the work being done by WCAWA said that they were planning to completely upgrade the rescue centre so that better infrastructure could be provided that will aid conservation of turtles who are brought to the centre.
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 "Bollywood, Wildlife, Alia Bhatt, Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Association (WCAWA), green, Sea turtle, Queen, Green S")
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