“Fantastic news for Mumbai. We got back Olive Ridley Sea Turtle after 20 years,” tweeted an ecstatic Afroz Shah on Thursday, 22 March.
Nearly three years ago, Afroz Shah, a lawyer and an environmentalist, took it upon himself to clean the Versova beach in Mumbai. He almost single-handedly spearheaded the task of cleaning the beach.
Later, his efforts were appreciated by Mumbaikars and around 1,200 volunteers joined him. And today, all their efforts have paid off. A clean Versova beach welcomed around 80 Olive Ridley sea turtles after 20 years, Mumbai Mirror reported.
Shah took to Twitter to share the moment with the world. He shared the pictures of the Olive Ridley turtles occupying clean spaces at the Versova Beach.
Calling the return of the turtles to the beach “historic”, Shah and his volunteers escorted them safely into the Arabian Sea.
Mumbaikars have been expressing their happiness on social media, congratulating Afroz Shah for his efforts.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam also took to Twitter to welcome the tiny guests on the beach in Mumbai.
We haven’t noticed any nesting of turtles on Versova beach in the last several years. They normally lay eggs at places they feel safe and secure.N Vasudevan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to PTI
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, N Vasudevan, said there was a possibility that adult female turtles came back to nest at the place they were born.
"In Maharashtra, we keep noticing sporadic nesting of Olive Ridley turtles, including on the Ratnagiri, Raigad and Palghar coast", he added.
I have witnessed something surreal today. A life changing experience. Eighty Olive Ridley turtles walking back to the sea.A volunteer to PTI
In July last year, an adult Olive Ridley turtle was rescued from Juhu beach in suburban Mumbai. Animal activists had rushed the turtle to a local vet clinic.
The Olive Ridley sea turtle (scientific name: Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific Ridley sea turtle, is a medium-size species of sea turtles found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
They can also be found in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
(With inputs from PTI and Mumbai Mirror)
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