Chennai To Become Home Of International Olive Ridley Turtle Centre

The International Olive Ridley Turtle Centre in Chennai will be set up with the joint funding of Tamil Nadu government and JICA, said a release by TN Forest Department.

Chennai: An International centre for protection and conservation of Olive Ridley turtles is set to come up in Chennai with the funding of Japan Internation Cooperation Agency (JICA),  said Tamil Nadu Forest Department on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Department said, the centre will be set up at a cost Rs 6.30 crore and will be jointly established with the support of JICA and Tamil Nadu government.

Tamil Nadu is a major hub for the conservation of the Olive Ridley turtles. The annual nesting season takes place from January till April end and the Forest Department along with volunteers and NGOs make temporary hatcheries in Chennai's Besant Nagar and Neelankarai.

In Chennai, volunteers from Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) and Tree Foundation are involved in the conservation work.

There are also regular awareness programmes on the Olive Ridley turtles.

The Department said that Tree Foundation had trained more than 363 Sea Turtle Protection Force members from 222 fishing communities of Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

As of March 2022, over 12,000 Olive Ridley hatchlings were released into the sea in Chennai.

The wildlife officials alone collected over 52,000 Olive Ridley turtle eggs from Besant Nagar, Injambakkam, Neelankarai and Pulicat in the last three months. The officials placed the eggs in the hatcheries kept near the location. Of the 52,000 eggs, the highest number of 28,473 eggs were collected in Besant Nagar followed by 13,085 eggs in Pulicat, said a report on Times of India.

(With IANS inputs)