Trailing The Turtles Velas
Living in a dense concrete jungle for most
of the time where even the sight of a bird’s
nest can fill you with a sense of surprise, how
many of us have had the occasion to see the
hatchling of a turtle make its laborious way
to the sea over a distance of sand that may
seem small to us but is like a huge desert to
it? No doubt we may have seen this in any
of the innumerable wildlife documentaries
beamed on National Geographic or Animal
Planet television series. But to see it in real
life is an awesome experience in itself. And
it’s not too difficult now to do so. All you have
to do is visit Velas, a remote village in the
Mandangad taluka of Ratnagiri district. But
make sure that you coincide your visit with
the Turtle Festival, a celebration of nature’s
wonder in which baby turtles of the Olive
Ridley are released into the sea by the volun-
teers of the Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra.
Like a precious jewel, Velas is protected by
mountains on its three sides and a beauti-
ful shoreline on the fourth quadrant. This of
course makes it a perfect getaway but not just
to relax but also to come close to understand-
ing the ecological diversity of the Konkan re-
gion and how it is more important than ever
for the locals to retain their customs and tra-
ditional way of life so as to continue to pre-
serve nature in its pristine form. Incidentally,
Velas also holds historical significance as the
birthplace and hometown of Nana Phadnavis,
an influential minister and statesman of the
Maratha Empire during the Peshwa admin-istration in Pune. A village of farmers, Velas’
economy thrives on the cultivation of rice,
coconuts, beetle nut (supari), cashew nut and
mangoes. And, to a certain extent, the turtles,
since they bring the tourists here.
With the marine turtle conservation move-
ment in Maharashtra gaining strength in
recent years, there has now been a serious
attempt to ensure that the message of turtle
conservation reaches a wider audience and
that the local community becomes a stake-
holder in this process. That primarily is the
reason why Velas has now been thrown open
to the curious and the conservationists. The
time when you must visit Velas is when sev-
eral Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings emerge
from the golden sand, wasting no time as
they follow the scent of moisture in the air
and commence their seemingly never-ending
voyage to the Arabian Sea. This is after the
mother turtles have come ashore under the
cover of darkness about 45-55 days ahead to
lay their clutches of eggs.
The Olive Ridley has one of the most ex-
traordinary nesting habits in the world.
Large groups of turtles gather offshore and
then all at once they come ashore to lay their
eggs. This mass arrival and mass nesting is
known as ‘Arribada’. However, it was the
loss of nesting habitats, poaching of eggs and
death due to accidental catch in fishing nets
that finally led the concerned authorities to
sit up and take notice so that the Olive Rid-
ley was attributed the ‘endangered’ status
under Schedule I species in the Indian Wild-
life (Protection) Act, 1972. Since then, there has been a continuous effort to save the Olive
Ridleys, one such being the project started by
the Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra (SNM) in 2001.
To begin with, the SNM took all the villagers
in confidence in order to conserve the turtles
on a mass scale and this has not only led to a
huge success of the programme but has also
helped create additional income for the lo-
cals who arrange home stays for the visitors.
The SNM and Kasav Mitra Mandal (KMM),
a local body, now organise the Turtle Festi-
val each year during the period of February
– March. Since the past nine years, the NGO
has successfully implemented the project in
36 villages across the coast of Maharashtra,
protecting 681 nests and releasing more than
30,465 hatchlings into the sea. This year, the
Department of Forests has provided financial
and logistical support to the NGO, further
strengthening the marine turtle conservation
movement in the state.
There is a lot of hard work that goes into
the festival and it begins with the volunteers
keeping a close watch for freshly laid nests
by the female turtles – easy to spot because
of the trails left behind on the sand by the
female turtle. A female turtle digs a pit gen-
erally about two feet deep and then lays its
eggs. That done, it covers the pit with sand
and returns to the sea. The volunteers then
dig the nests and carefully transfer the eggs
to man-made pits called hatcheries. This is
a protected area and a strict vigil is kept by
the volunteers and the locals. After the incu-
bation period, the hatchlings emerge at any
time of the day from their nests, but are re-leased into the sea by volunteers at specific
times i.e. at 0700 and 1615 hours because at
these times the sand temperature is very con
-
ducive for the hatchlings to undertake their
slow dash to the sea.
Apart from this unique sight, Velas also has
more to offer. You could visit places such as
Bankot, Kelshi, Dapoli, Diveagar, Shrivard
-
han, Harihareshwar, Guhagar and many
more. Of these, Bankot is a small fishing vil
-
lage that offers a view of Himmatgadh, also
called as the Bankot Quila. Guhagar has sev
-
eral pristine beaches, including Hedvi and
Velneshwar, and also the temple of Dashab
-
huja (10 hands) Ganpati. Dapoli, Diveagar,
Shrivardhan, etc are not only well known for
their beaches but also the typical Konkani
cuisine they serve.
The turtle festival is normally held during the
time the hatchlings continue to emerge from
their nests. To book your accommodation,
refer to the list of the Kasav Mitra Mandal
web site. These members provide home stays
and can be contacted directly over the phone.
Accommodation facilities are available at
reasonable rates. These charges include
dormitory-style accommodation, simple veg
-
etarian lunch and dinner, breakfast and tea
thrice a day. Mattresses or carpets (satran
-
jis) are available with most of the members.
Separate rooms are also available, details of
which can be found on the website. While at
Velas, make it a point to visit the Marine Tur
-
tle Knowledge & Information Centre as well
as the Marine Turtle Research and Conserva
-
tion Centre to learn more about sea turtles.