Six endangered turtles found dead in Karwar, Honnavar beaches
Karwar: The plastic menace continues to threaten aquatic creatures, as an alarming increase in sea turtle deaths has been reported along Karnataka's coast. Over the past month, the carcasses of five critically endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (ORST) and one green turtle have been found washed ashore at Honnavar and Karwar. This year alone, Uttara Kannada district has reported at least 24 turtle deaths.
The remains of a green turtle and an ORST were found on the shores of Honnavar and highly decomposed ORST carcasses were seen on Karwar beach last week, as reported by Deccan Herald. Additionally, a hawksbill sea turtle carcass was reported in Karwar two months ago.
Forest department officials and marine experts have struggled to determine the exact causes of these deaths due to the high decomposition. However, previous postmortem reports have indicated that common causes of turtle deaths include ingestion of plastic or gunny bags, injuries from deep-sea fishing boat propellers, entanglement in fishing nets, and pulmonary infections.
Ravishankar, Karwar Deputy Conservator of Forests, noted that nearly all of the 24 turtle deaths this year, except for six reported this month, were caused by external factors, as reported by DH. To address the issue, the forest department is conducting workshops and reorientation programs for fishermen on how to handle and release turtles caught in nets. Ravishankar pointed out that while turtles are not consumed in this region, their chances of survival are significantly reduced if injured turtles are released back into the sea.
According to data from ReefWatch Marine Conservation, as cited by DH, approximately 90 percent of turtle deaths reported in Uttar Kannada district are attributed to human interventions and habitat destruction. Dr Manohar Nagre, a marine veterinarian with ReefWatch organsiation, highlighted issues such as net entanglements, plastic ingestion, blunt-force trauma, and pulmonary infections as major contributors to turtle mortality.
The beaches of Karwar and Honnavar are known for their significant numbers of ORST nesting sites. Female turtles typically arrive at these beaches every year between December and May to lay their eggs.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
