Make this your homepage
Tripura News
Home > Tripura News
Botsami turtle: Negligence hits the preservation, no hatchery prepared yet to preserve the tortoise : Govt negligence continue even after High Court's direction
TIWN
Botsami turtle: Negligence hits the preservation, no hatchery prepared yet to preserve the tortoise  : Govt negligence continue even after High Court's direction
PHOTO : TIWN Pic

UDAIPUR/AGARTALA, August 29 (TIWN): Acting on the direction of the Tripura High court to the state government to demolish at least two sides of cemented embankment of Kalyansagar, the administration has broken the cemented embankment but so far has not prepared any hatchery for the breeding of the tortoise, resulting the tortoise to walk away from the lake.

Talking to TIWN correspondent on Saturday Udaipur SDM Subhasis Bandopadhya said that he had visited the lake site to check the preservation of the tortoise and has assured to take immediate steps for the preservation of the tortoise. He further said he will also talk with DFO W. Bhutiya to fix net along the lake so that the tortoises’ doses not walk away from the lake until a new hatchery is prepared.

The localites alleged that though the administration has bull doze the embankment of the lake after the order of the High Court but the authority has not take any major steps to preserve the tortoise in the lake.  As there is no proper hatchery in the lake the tortoises walks out of the lake and goes to the nearby pond for breeding.

Earlier the administration had broken one side of the cement embankment of the Kalyan Sagar Lake and   arranged a temporary measure with sack of mud to preserve the livelihood of the tortoises, especially for their breeding of off-springs. But the small temporary hatchery is not sufficient for the turtle to breed.

However, a guard appointed by the forest department to look after the temporary hatchery agreed to the point that failing to get proper place to breed the tortoises walks away from the lake.

Interestingly, years have been passed that the administration had adopted this step but so far there is no full-fledged report of any re-production of tortoise on the bank of the kalyan sagar. As a result the HC has ordered to entirely demolish the cemented embankment of the lake to save the rare species of the Botsami turtle in the lake.

However, it is to be mentioned here that the rare species of Bostami turtles housing in the lake have faced a serious crisis in breeding after cementing all four embankments of the lake a couple of years back. The cementing has gravely affected the health of aquatic beings in the lake and resulted into deaths of many turtles and fishes over the year.

According to the experts, it is only the construction of the embankments that increased the mortality of the turtles spoiling the natural habitat as well as places for laying eggs for this turtles.

It is to be mentioned that defying all the warnings of environmentalists the temple authorities decided to erect cemented embankments around the banks of Kalyan Sagar in 1998. Since then more than 20 deaths of N-Nigricans turtles were recorded.

Kalyan Sagar is located on the eastern side of the Mata Tripuraswari Temple which is 3 km. away towards south from Udaipur town, Tripura. A big lake Kalyan Sagar just down to the Hillock at the backside of the Temple adds to its beauty. This natural pond has varieties of aqua species. The area of the Kalyan Sagar Lake is 2.752 acre. The lake is considered sacred and devotees worship the fishes and tortoises present here. Kalyan Sagar is famous for very rare species of tortoise in large numbers. 

 

 

Add your Comment
Comments (0)

Special Articles

Sanjay Majumder Sanjay Majumder
Anirban Mitra Anirban Mitra