<p>Country’s premier missile testing centre at the Wheeler’s Island in Orissa’s Bhadrak district is located extremely close to the Gahirmatha marine and wildlife sanctuary in the neighbouring coastal district of Kendrapara, which houses the world’s biggest rookery for endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles. <br /><br />For long, environmentalists and animal protection groups have been at loggerheads with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) over the test firing of missiles during the turtle nesting and breeding season. The important missile-testing centre is operated by the DRDO.<br /><br />“When the missile-testing centre was set up in Wheeler’s Island in early 1990s, an agreement had been reached between the DRDO and the government that the former would refrain from testing missiles during the turtle nesting and breeding season. <br />However, the defence agency has been violating the agreement repeatedly despite protest from the environmentalists as well as the state government officials. In this context, Ramesh’s letter assumes significance. We heartily welcome the environment minister’s initiative”, said Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of Wildlife Society of Orissa, a non-governmental organization, which is working for the protection of Olive Ridley sea turtles under a special programme called Operation Kachchhapa.<br /><br />Similar sentiments have also been echoed by the officials of the state forest department, which is in charge of turtle nesting grounds inside the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. “We have no objection to the repeated missile tests as it is required for the defence need of the country. But the DRDO can stop these tests between November and May, the mating and nesting season of the Olive Ridley sea turtles”, state’s chief wildlife warden P NPadhi had recently gone on record saying. <br /><br />Jairam Ramesh, in his letter to Antony, had also mentioned about the violation of agreement by the DRDO vis-à-vis missile testing from Wheelers Island during the turtle season every year.<br /><br />“While granting permission for the missile testing centre, the Orissa forest department had imposed certain conditions on test firing during the turtle breeding and nesting season. I am told that this condition is violated routinely. This has had adverse impact on breeding and nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles”, Ramesh said in his letter urging the defence minister to personally intervene in the matter to ensure that the DRDO complies with the conditions.<br /><br />Environmentalists and state forest department officials protest the test firing of the missiles during the turtles season on the ground that the vibrations the exercise create often disturb the turtles that are known as extremely sensitive species. Besides the bright lights of the installation tend to drive away the adult turtles that head towards the nesting grounds to lay eggs after sunset.<br /><br />Significantly, a section of the environmentalists as well as forest officials have already started suggesting that this is high time the defence ministry and the DRDO thought of an alternative site for missile tests, totally winding up their current operations in the Wheeler’s Island. Their views are based on the fact that the country would be test firing more powerful missiles in the coming days which means greater impact on the turtle nesting grounds nearby.<br /><br />DRDO scientists and officials, however, completely disagree with the view that the missile testing from Wheeler’s Island is having an impact on the Olive Ridley turtles during their mating and mass nesting in the Gahirmatha rookery. “There has been no scientific study to prove that the turtle mating and nesting is being impacted by the test firing of missiles from the Wheeler’s Island”, said a highly placed source in the premier missile testing centre who did not want to be quoted.<br /><br />To strengthen their point, the DRDO officials argue that if the turtles were getting scared or disturbed by the missile testing then they would not be coming back to Gahirmatha nesting ground to lay their eggs year after year. This year, missiles were test fired from Wheeler’s Island about five times during the turtle season. They apparently had no impact on the Olive Ridleys who had participated in mass nesting in large numbers in their favourite nesting ground. The turtle congregation in Gahirmatha this season was around 2.5 lakh which is considered a handsome turnout.<br /><br />They further maintain that other reasons like free movement of mechanized fishing trawlers despite a ban and sea erosion in the nesting grounds pose greater threat to endangered turtles than the missiles.<br /><br />What perhaps is needed to bring an end to the controversy is the appointment of an expert committee to look into the matter and suggest to the government the best way to deal with the situation.</p>
<p>Country’s premier missile testing centre at the Wheeler’s Island in Orissa’s Bhadrak district is located extremely close to the Gahirmatha marine and wildlife sanctuary in the neighbouring coastal district of Kendrapara, which houses the world’s biggest rookery for endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles. <br /><br />For long, environmentalists and animal protection groups have been at loggerheads with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) over the test firing of missiles during the turtle nesting and breeding season. The important missile-testing centre is operated by the DRDO.<br /><br />“When the missile-testing centre was set up in Wheeler’s Island in early 1990s, an agreement had been reached between the DRDO and the government that the former would refrain from testing missiles during the turtle nesting and breeding season. <br />However, the defence agency has been violating the agreement repeatedly despite protest from the environmentalists as well as the state government officials. In this context, Ramesh’s letter assumes significance. We heartily welcome the environment minister’s initiative”, said Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of Wildlife Society of Orissa, a non-governmental organization, which is working for the protection of Olive Ridley sea turtles under a special programme called Operation Kachchhapa.<br /><br />Similar sentiments have also been echoed by the officials of the state forest department, which is in charge of turtle nesting grounds inside the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. “We have no objection to the repeated missile tests as it is required for the defence need of the country. But the DRDO can stop these tests between November and May, the mating and nesting season of the Olive Ridley sea turtles”, state’s chief wildlife warden P NPadhi had recently gone on record saying. <br /><br />Jairam Ramesh, in his letter to Antony, had also mentioned about the violation of agreement by the DRDO vis-à-vis missile testing from Wheelers Island during the turtle season every year.<br /><br />“While granting permission for the missile testing centre, the Orissa forest department had imposed certain conditions on test firing during the turtle breeding and nesting season. I am told that this condition is violated routinely. This has had adverse impact on breeding and nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles”, Ramesh said in his letter urging the defence minister to personally intervene in the matter to ensure that the DRDO complies with the conditions.<br /><br />Environmentalists and state forest department officials protest the test firing of the missiles during the turtles season on the ground that the vibrations the exercise create often disturb the turtles that are known as extremely sensitive species. Besides the bright lights of the installation tend to drive away the adult turtles that head towards the nesting grounds to lay eggs after sunset.<br /><br />Significantly, a section of the environmentalists as well as forest officials have already started suggesting that this is high time the defence ministry and the DRDO thought of an alternative site for missile tests, totally winding up their current operations in the Wheeler’s Island. Their views are based on the fact that the country would be test firing more powerful missiles in the coming days which means greater impact on the turtle nesting grounds nearby.<br /><br />DRDO scientists and officials, however, completely disagree with the view that the missile testing from Wheeler’s Island is having an impact on the Olive Ridley turtles during their mating and mass nesting in the Gahirmatha rookery. “There has been no scientific study to prove that the turtle mating and nesting is being impacted by the test firing of missiles from the Wheeler’s Island”, said a highly placed source in the premier missile testing centre who did not want to be quoted.<br /><br />To strengthen their point, the DRDO officials argue that if the turtles were getting scared or disturbed by the missile testing then they would not be coming back to Gahirmatha nesting ground to lay their eggs year after year. This year, missiles were test fired from Wheeler’s Island about five times during the turtle season. They apparently had no impact on the Olive Ridleys who had participated in mass nesting in large numbers in their favourite nesting ground. The turtle congregation in Gahirmatha this season was around 2.5 lakh which is considered a handsome turnout.<br /><br />They further maintain that other reasons like free movement of mechanized fishing trawlers despite a ban and sea erosion in the nesting grounds pose greater threat to endangered turtles than the missiles.<br /><br />What perhaps is needed to bring an end to the controversy is the appointment of an expert committee to look into the matter and suggest to the government the best way to deal with the situation.</p>
