Dwarka Prasad Patnaik, OP
Chhatrapur: The iconic Olive Ridley turtles, among the rarest of marine turtles globally, continue to choose Odisha’s coastline — particularly the Rushikulya river mouth near Ganjam — as a favoured nesting ground. The area’s climatic conditions are highly conducive to egg-laying, drawing large numbers of turtles each year.
This year, more than 8,00,000 Olive Ridley turtles arrived to nest, setting a new record. Similarly, an uncountable number of hatchlings emerged from the nests to make their way into the sea. These natural phenomena continue to draw tourists here from across the state and country.
In an effort to protect and study these unique creatures, the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change proposed a first-of-its-kind Turtle Research Centre to be established at Purunabandha near Ganjam. A 3.5-acre site was identified, and the foundation stone was laid March 6, 2024, by Sanjaya Kumar Swain, then chief conservator of forests, Berhampur Circle.
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The proposed facility is expected to include a research hub for PhD scholars, a state-of-the-art museum, and comprehensive resources on the turtles’ life cycle, habitat, and conservation. The centre is also intended to serve as an educational site for tourists, students, and researchers.
However, progress on the project has stalled.
Aside from the laying of the foundation stone, the construction of an entrance gate, and the installation of barbed-wire fencing, no significant development has occurred on the site.
“We have completed whatever orders we had received from the higher authorities,” said Khallikote Forest Ranger Dibya Shankar Behera.
“A survey has already been conducted by a special team from Bhubaneswar,” Behera said.
Sources said a sanctioned amount of Rs 2 crore remains unutilised. With less than six months remaining before the next mass nesting season, uncertainty looms over when the construction will actually begin.
