As part of an ongoing turtle conservation campaign, 1,633 turtles were released into the Ganga River at the Bhikund Ganga ghat, Meerut, on Thursday by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in collaboration with the Forest Department. Senior forest officials, including the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), along with local villagers, were present during the event.

Earlier, on Monday, turtle hatchlings were released at the Makhdumpur Ganga ghat in the presence of Block Pramukh Nitin Poswal, BJP district minister Sunil Poswal, and DFO Vandana Phogat. The initiative is being carried out jointly by WWF and the Forest Department to protect and revive turtle populations in the Ganga.

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According to officials, the release included one Batagur dhongoka turtle, 944 Pangshura smithii, and 648 Pangshura tentoria turtles. With this release, the total number of turtles conserved and released under the campaign has reached 14,033.

The turtle conservation programme began in 2013, during which around 13,000 turtles had already been protected and released into the Ganga.

Explaining the process, Dr Gora Chandra Das, Senior Coordinator at WWF, said that turtle eggs are safeguarded through hatcheries set up along the banks of the Ganga. After hatching, the young turtles are nurtured in a modern pond at the Social Forestry Training Centre before being released into the river once they are capable of swimming.

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Tushar Gupta, Coordinator of the District Ganga Committee, highlighted the ecological importance of turtles, stating that they act as natural cleaners and engineers of the river ecosystem by feeding on decaying organic matter, dead organisms, and waste, thereby helping to keep the Ganga clean.