Would you believe endangered olive ridley turtle hatchlings emerging out from the sands on the Versova beach? well, the miracle happened on Thursday morning.
Would you believe endangered olive ridley turtle hatchlings emerging out from the sands on the Versova beach? well, the miracle happened on Thursday morning.
Mother Nature seems to be indeed very happy with the transformation of Versova beach, from once considered the dirtiest to now witnessing one of the most beautiful sights of hatchlings making their way towards the sea as locals and experts are surprised and ecstatic with this news.
Versova based lawyer Afroz Shah who has been spearheading the clean up of Versova beach since October 2015 received information from locals about these hatchlings. “Some local volunteers came to my house informing that there were turtle hatchlings on the beach. First even I was shocked but then I decided to rush to the spot and contacted Shaunak Modi, a marine enthusiast who too reached the site,” said Shah.
Soon along with volunteers Shah and Modi began calling up experts and devised plans to release them. “We formed human chains ensuring no one touched the hatchlings and guided them to the sea. By evening we had counted 92 hatchlings which were guided towards the sea,” said Modi.
The young hatchlings were kept around 30 meters from the sea and they gently crawled their way to their natural habitat.
Meanwhile, Shah said that he was hoping for some marine life returning to the beach after the persistent efforts by Versova Resident Volunteers who have been cleaning the beach for over two years. “Its the happiest day since we began cleaning the beach. If turtles have begun coming back to the beach its a blessing for Mumbai,” said Shah.
“I am sure that it is important although, just because the data does not exist doesn't mean that such events didn't happen before. Turtle hatching can occur on any beach there is no such thing as one beach is more important a habitat than the other.... as far as turtle hatching is concerned.
Calling it an important and interesting event Ketki Jog a Marine biologist said Turtle hatching can occur on any beach there is no such thing as one beach is more important a habitat than the other as far as turtle hatching is concerned. “What this tells us is how important it is to save these habitats, how it is the citizens' responsibility to keep it clean and question any proposed and planned developments along our coast,” she said.
Prashant Deshmukh, Range Forest Officer (RFO), Mangrove Cell too reached the site and carried out panchnama. “I appreciate the way Afroz Shah, Shaunak Modi, and others managed the situation and ensured the turtles were released without putting them under any stress.
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 "Turtle hatchlings at Versova Beach")
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