Speaking to mediapersons here today, the Chief Minister said the 20-km Gahiramatha beach stretching up to Hukitola in the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary would soon be declared a "core area" where poaching and illegal entry of mechanised trawlers would be "strictly prohibited". This was aimed at protecting the turtles as well as the interests of fishermen in the area, Patnaik said.

The decision to constitute the committee was taken at a high-level meeting here attended by DGP Dr Bana Behari Panda, principal chief conservator of forests Saroj Patnaik, Olive Ridley turtle expert Professor Priyambada Hejmadi, forest secretary Srinivas Rath, Rajnagar MLA Nalini Mohanty, fisheries director J N Panda and director of the Nandankananzoological park Bairagi Charan Prusty.

Gahiramatha was a fast deteriorating beach as far as the Olive Ridley turtles were concerned, the Chief Minister said, and underlined the need for stringent measures to protect the species from extinction. The state will soon have a research and observation centre to study all kinds of sea turtles on the Orissa coast, the Chief Minister added. He said large-scale plantations will be taken up in other rookeries along the coast.