For the past six years, Vishwas (Bhau) Dattatray Katdhare, a die-hard naturalist and a member of the Wildlife Advisory Board of Maharashtra, has been chasing just one obsession: restoring the dwindling numbers of marine turtles in the state’s coastal areas.

Sahayadri Nisarg Mitra, founded by Katdhare and a group of enviromentalists, is all set to kick off a two-day turtle festival on Sunday at Velas, Ratnagiri. Velas is one of the popular breeding sites of Olive Ridley, which is an endangered species of turtle. From Mumbai, it will take only a six-hour bus journey to reach Velas. The festival will be organised with the help of local Gram Panchayat and the forest department.

“Today, Olive Ridleys are facing extinction because 99 percent of their eggs are stolen not only in India but across the world,” he says. In Maharashtra, turtles are bred extensively in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Thane’s Chikla region.

Though Sahayadri Nisarg Mitra has been operating as an animal protection organisation for more than a decade, it was only in 2002 that they took up turtle conservation. According to Katdhare, he started the Marine Turtle Protection and Conservation project at Velas after quite an eccentric situation. “In the 1990s, a boat smuggling silver bricks had crashed on this beach. While the smugglers were all held, and the police managed to retrieve most of the silver, a few silver bricks were carried away into the water. Later in 2002, the sea brought some bricks back to the shore. As a result, the beach was declared off-bounds for the public,” he says. It was at this time that the environmentalist noticed Olive Ridely tracks on the shores. “That meant the turtles always came to lay eggs at the beach but the eggs were stolen by villagers,” says Katdhare, who has been fighting to save the turtles on this beach for years.

“Till last year, we have succeeded in releasing over 16,000 hatchlings into the sea from 384 nests,” he beams, adding, “this year itself nearly 143 nests have been protected so far.” Katdhare says that his group wants to expand the six-year-old turtle protection project to distant places and get more participation from the locals.

“Locals have been earning a livelihood by selling turtle eggs and meat. Changing their mindset is a hard task but we have managed to do this in various places by making them aware of alternative employment opportunities,” he says. During the festival, nearly 15 houses in this village of 750 people, will offer accommodation to tourists for just Rs 100. Of that, Rs 10 will be contributed to Katdhare’s turtle fund. Katdhare says that over the past years, he has seen people’s concern for the amphibian.

All about turtle breeding:
* Olive Ridleys are known to breed throughout the year, but the activity is at its peak between October and March.
* Usually, the female Olive Ridleys emerge from water at nights, crawl beyond the high-tide line and lay eggs on the shore.
* About 18-inch deep holes are dug in the sand and as many as 100-150 eggs are laid. Then, the female refills the holes and returns to the sea.