Sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik created a sand sculptors near the hundreds of dead turtles at the beach Wednaesday Op Photo
Puri: Carcasses of over 150 Olive Ridley turtles and a bottlenose dolphin washed ashore were recovered by Forest department officials here Wednesday, a top official said.The carcasses were found on the beach near Pantha Niwas.
‘‘We suspect that the turtles were killed after being hit by the fishing trawlers in the sea,” said Sarat Chandra Behera, an official of the Puri-Balukhand forest range, adding the carcasses have been sent for post mortem.
The turtles in large number come to Gahirmatha, mouth of rivers Devi and Rushikulya in Orissa coast, for annual nesting, he said.
Though there is a prohibition on fishing in 20 km distance from the beach in these three identified places, the trawler operators undertake fishing illegally there, Behera said.
‘‘We have to first check the reason behind deaths of turtles in such high number. We will direct the agencies concerned to look into the matter and take necessary action,” Puri collector Arvind Agarwal said.
Recently, scores of whales were washed ashore to the Chennai beach. Despite all efforts by fishermen, at least 45 of them died while the rest were rescued and put back in the sea.
Local sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik, who had created sand sculptors on the beach here, said, ‘‘Today, I found hundreds of dead turtles at the beach.’’
Patnaik appealed to the government through sand sculpture to find out the cause of death of turtles and also urged the people for protecting these sea animals. PTI
