Chennai, April 26 (BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu government will soon establish an international centre for protection and conservation of Olive Ridley Turtles. The facility will undertake research on Olive Ridley Turtles that include collecting data and creating awareness of the turtles.
The Tamil Nadu forest department in a statement on Tuesday said that the rehabilitation and conservation centre that is coming up in Chennai will cost Rs 6.30 crore. The statement said that the centre will be coming up soon in Chennai and the details would be announced in the days to come.
The centre will be established with financial support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Tamil Nadu government.
It may be noted that Tamil Nadu is a major hub for the conservation of Olive Ridley turtles and several conservationists and NGOs are involved in supporting the conservation of Olive Ridley turtles in the state. The annual nesting season of the OIive Ridley turtles takes place from January till April end and the state forest department along with volunteers and NGOs used to make temporary hatcheries at Besant Nagar and Neelankarai in Chennai.
Generally in Chennai volunteers from Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) and Tree Foundation are involved in the conservation of Olive Ridley turtles.
There were regular awareness programmes on Olive Ridley turtles and fishermen were involved in the conservation and awareness programmes.
Forest department said that Tree Foundation had trained more than 363 Sea Turtle Protection Force members from 222 fishing communities of Chennai, Andhra and Odisha.
