Agartala: The wildlife experts launched special mission to ensure safe breeding of the eggs of Boshtami turtle species in Kalyansagar of Udaipur in South Tripura. The security personnel of Tripurasundari temple had yesterday located a turtles laying eggs on the ground.
Wildlife officials stated here on Monday that the turtle came up to the temple ground and walked down to Kalyansagar, eastern side of the temple within a few minutes after laying eggs.
The rare species of turtles has have been facing a threat of extinction for a decade after cementing of the water body that disturbed the aquatic-ecology of the lake and as many as 50 turtles died so far.
Finally, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in High Court of Tripura seeking prevention of cementing of water bodies of the state four months ago.
Following, pressure from the civil society organizations, the administration demolished an embankment of the lake recently to restore aquatic life of the lake.
Gomuti District Magistrate Manik Lal Dey confirmed the issue later on Monday evening and said both turtle and eggs were shifted to an artificial hatchery in the eastern banks of Kalyansagar and wildlife officials were asked to ensure safe breeding.
Tripura State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) officials however, claimed besides, monthly pollution tests of water; periodic tests are conducted on the turtles by experts from the Sepahijala zoo as well.
They said, cementing of embankment has created obstruction in oxygen supply in the water and that also destroyed the natural character of the water body, which affected the life of turtles and fishes.
Prof Jyoti Prakash Roychaudhury, an environment expert referring to the report of International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN) said the Bostami turtles of Tripurasundari Temple are going to be extinct soon.
The semi-aquatic freshwater turtle was declared ‘rare’ by the IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1994. The committee changed its opinion in 1996 and declared Bostami turtles ‘critically endangered’.
In 2002, the IUCN red list of threatened species noted Bostami turtles as ‘extinct in the wild’.
Very few man-made water-bodies hold the last of these turtles and Kalyansagar is one of them. (UNI)
