Kendrapara: Environmentalists and nature conservationists have called for an urgent need to set up a marine life research centre in Kendrapara district with Bhitarkanika National Park rich in biodiversity and playing host to a large number of aquatic and marine creatures, a report said. The proposal assumes significance with rapid coastal erosion gobbling up large tracts of land mass in the district. The matter was put forth at a meeting of the Gahirmatha Marine Turtle Protection and Mangroves Conservation Society (GMTPMCS), held Saturday.
Presiding over the meeting, society president Satya Prakash Mohanty said, apart from the rich biodiversity in Bhitarkanika, the district is also home to albino crocodiles, marine creatures like dolphins, rare Olive Ridley turtles, octopus, horseshoe crabs, other varieties of crabs, jellyfish and shells which make it a nature’s paradise. He said that the life cycle of the creatures like horseshoe crabs, other crabs and some shells and their medicinal qualities are still unexplored and calls for extensive research to unravel the mystery.
Environmentalists Hemant Kumar Rout, Ashok Kumar Swain, Prabhu Prasad Mohapatra and Ashis Kumar Senapati said that arrival of rare Olive Ridley turtles at a particular point of time in a year, their mass nesting, return of female turtles and birth of the hatchlings from eggs and their homebound journey in the sea continue to baffle humans and still remain a mystery. The turtles were previously visiting Ramachandi coast in Puri district for mass nesting but they have stopped coming to the place since 2012. This makes it all the more important for establishment of a research centre in the district. This centre is expected to hold research on the life cycle of this rare turtles and find out reasons for abandoning the Ramachandi coast, they observed.
Similarly, the rare albino crocodile ‘Gori’ has drawn the attention of the tourists from all over the world. This rare albino has been kept in an enclosure in Dangamal sanctuary. However, this year, 16 albino crocodiles have been traced in the area during a census.
There is a need for research on the life cycle of these reptiles, they added. Moreover, there is an urgent need to sensitise the fishermen on the importance and protection of marine creatures like jelly fish, dolphins, octopus, shells and horseshoe crabs. The survival and protection of shells and horseshoe crabs is all the more important for the mankind as medicines are prepared from them to cure various diseases. This apart, coastal erosion has acquired serious proportions in this district which calls for extensive research to seek solution for sea erosion. When contacted, ADM Pitambar Samal welcomed the demand and assured that attention of the authorities concerned will be drawn in this connection.
