UDAIPUR, May 4 (TIWN) : In a remarkable development since the destruction of the cemented embankments in Kalyan Sagar of Matabari in March , a N-Nigricans turtle laid five eggs near the Shib Temple located around 150 metres distance from the Kalyan Sagar. It is learnt that at around 4 in the morning of Sunday the Tripurasundari Temple priest Shantu Chakraborty saw the turtle near the Shib Temple. He then had a close look at it and suddenly found five eggs lying beside the turtle. At once the priest called upon the temple authorities. It is assumed that at the dead of night when the temple complex was deserted, the turtle might have come upstairs breaking almost 40 stairs and laid these eggs just before dawn. This is first time since 2009 that a rare Bostami species turtle laid eggs in Matabari.

    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. In 2012 International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) has declared this Bostami species turtles as an extinct species. A lot of controversies started to arose since then. In December 2013 environmentalist Rupali Ghosh( who is a researcher in turtles for the last six years) and Dr Madhumita Banerjee, Executive Director of National Fishery Development Agency(NFDA) vistited Matabari and reported the Forest Department, Govt of Tripura to break the cemented embarkment immediately if the N-Nigricans turtles are to be saved.

   On 6th March 2014 a high level team including environmentalist Prof Jyoti Prakash Roy Chowdhury, Chief Wild Life Warden A.K.Gupta, District Forest Officer of Gomati District Arun Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer of Udaipur W.B.Bhutia along with DCM Pradip Sarkar visited Kalyan Sagar and returning from there the team met DM Gomati Manik Lal Dey( the Sevait of Tripura Sundari Temple) and had a one hour crucial meeting. On that meeting the decision to destroy the cemented embankment of on the eastern bank of Kalyan Sagar was taken. And from 7th March the embankments were broken up and the construction of three artificial hatcheries began. And experts say that a change was visible in the attitude of the turtles of Kalyan Sagar ever since the embankments were broken . Turtles started to go these hatcheries quite often. However, the laying of the eggs by the N-Nigricans turtle near the Shib Temple instead of going the hatcheries has once again raised the question whether the construction of hatcheries was a scientific one or not.

   It is generally believed that if someone touches the eggs of these turtles, the eggs donot produce new born turtles. But the DM said that in this case the temple authorities had no other alternative but to take the turtle and its eggs to the hatchery. He said that Forest Department officials are taking utmost care to the turtle and the eggs and through CCTV cameras the officials are monitoring the entire process.

    TIWN  correspondent had a telephonic chat with Environmentalist Rupali Ghosh over phone. Rupali Ghosh, who is now in Gujarat,  expressed her happiness over the news. But a sense of fear passed across her mind when she heard that the eggs have been touched by humans. However, she adds," There still remains a very bleak chance in this case as the eggs have been shifted before 24 hours after the turtle laid the eggs. Now it has to be seen that the turtle and the eggs are taken great care in their seemingly natural habitat. Hopefully this is the beginning of new days. "