Indian roofed turtles: India

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Protection

Kurma idol of Lord Vishnu/ Lota Devi temple, West Bengal

Shiv Sahay Singh, Innovative idea helps revive Indian Roofed Turtles, September 3, 2018: The Hindu

The Kurma idol placed near the pond.
Special arrangement
From: Shiv Sahay Singh, Innovative idea helps revive Indian Roofed Turtles, September 3, 2018: The Hindu

Vishnu to the rescue of temple turtles

Till a few months ago, a small population of Indian Roofed Turtles (Pangshura tecta) in the Lota Devi temple pond in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, was struggling to survive due to the pollution caused by devotees throwing oil, incense sticks, flowers and other ritual offerings into the small waterbody.

However, an innovative idea has tapped into the religious sentiments of devotees and helped reduce pollution in the pond while channelling the fervour of visitors. On August 26, an idol of Vishnu in his Kurma (turtle) avatar was installed at the temple complex.

“The Lota Devi temple is very old religious place and thousands of devotees throng to worship Goddess Kali. The offerings made by the devotees in the pond left it very polluted. This symbolic Kurma idol is placed on an altar just outside the fenced area, where devotees can place their offerings rather than directly polluting the pond,” said Shyama Prasad Pandey, secretary of the Society for Protecting Ophiofauna & Animal Rights (SPOAR).

Mr Pandey said tests conducted earlier this year showed that dissolved oxygen in the pond was very low and contamination of the water was resulting in the death of turtles.

The NGO has taken the lead in reviving the species and earlier this year, fenced the pond. SPOAR and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) also cleaned and dredged pond and added native aquatic plants and fish to help the surviving turtles.

“It was a very innovative idea and therefore, we joined hands with SPOAR. The habitat of the species is shrinking and there is need to protect the species in such ponds which is close to human population,” Debobroto Sircar of WTI said.

Mr. Sharma said there were about 20 Indian Roofed Turtle in the pond. Following the conservation efforts, new turtle hatchlings were recently spotted in it.