AGARTALA, July 15 (TIWN): In a recent hearing, High Court of Tripura directed the state government to complete all works related to safeguarding of the Bostami turtle of the kalyan Sagar lake by 16 November.

A HC division bench led by Chief justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Subhasis Talapatra ordered the concerned department to take the immediate action for the preservation of the turtles and to complete all the protection work by November 16.

Acting to the order of the High Court given on 22 June, Chief Secretary Yash Pal Singh submitted the required affidavit to the court mentioning the several steps to be taken for the preservation of the bostami turtle of Udaipur Kalyan Sagar Lake.

In the affidavit it is mentioned that several steps are in use for the preservation of the turtles including the bull-doze of the cemented embankments has already began. The broken embankment along the lake to be filled with boulders and sands as the turtles require sands for breeding. For successful breeding of the turtles several other scientific methods are also scheduled to be adopted. It is also planned to conduct a regular monitoring at the Kalyansagar Lake to restrict any kind of disturbances to the turtles and also to contain pollution.

However, keeping a trace with the affidavit the HC has ordered to complete all the preservation work by November 16 for safety breeding of turtles in the Kalayan Sagar Lake.

Recently, workers engaged in demolishing the cemented embankment bank of Kalyan Sagar, recovered around 40 eggs and a baby turtle. After getting the information, experts from Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary collected the eggs and the turtle to the sanctuary.

It is to be mentioned here that years have passed but so far no concrete measures are taken to preserve the tortoises and fishes of Matabari Kalyan Sagar Lake. The most prominent temple of Tripura, the Tripura Sundari temple’s Lake Kalyan Sagar is famous all over India for the collection of its rare Bostami turtles and various kinds of fishes. But the extinctions of its tortoises have become a very common and an old issue, for which the Government doesn’t care anymore.

The tortoises can’t breed their offspring for the artificial cemented embankments, although it has been suggested to bulldoze the cemented embankments in order to save the rare species N-Nigricans turtles, which are only found in the Kalyan Sagar of Mata Bari. But, every time the temple authorities deny the suggestions, given by the environmentalists and turtle experts.