Rajnagar: Forest personnel engaged in turtle protection drive along the coast of Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district had a narrow escape as their trawler came under the attack by illegal fishing trawlers on Monday, official sources said.
According to sources, Olive Ridley turtles turn up in millions for mass nesting along the coast of Gahirmatha beach every year. Gahirmatha Beach is acclaimed as the world’s largest-known nesting ground of these turtles. The forest officials were on patrolling duty escaped an attack bid thanks to the timely arrival of two other patrolling teams.
Forest personnel led by Madan Hansda informed the District Forest Officer and Assistant Conservator of Forests after being mobbed by the marauding crew who came in 17 fishing trawlers during patrolling. On the instruction of DFO, the forest officials opened blank fire for safety reasons. In the meantime, two other patrolling teams from Sasanpeta and Babubali, acting on DFO’s order, left for Hukitola to save their fellow forest officials.
Seeing the two more patrolling teams approaching towards them, the fishing trawlers reportedly left the place.
It is pertinent to note that this is the third attack bid on the patrolling team in the last one and a half months.
District Forest Officer Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav said, “We have always instructed forest officials to carry weapons with them while going for patrolling because life risk is there.”
Notably, a forest official was killed while patrolling 15 years back in Gahiramatha Sanctuary.
Odisha government, in a bid to curb high mortality of marine species, has prohibited fishing activity within a seaward radius of 20 km from Gahirmatha under the Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act (OMFRA), 1982. Despite the implementation of such Act, the marine sanctuary sees the intrusion of fishing trawlers into the turtle habitation corridor every year.
