DRDO masks lights to avoid distracting Olive Ridley turtles

Kendrapara : The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has masked the mast lights at its missile test range centre on Abdul Kalam Island to avoid distracting the Olive Ridley turtles, who have started coming to the nearby nesting ground at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, a forest department official said on Wednesday.

The island on the Bay of Bengal is off Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary, of which the beach is a part and is among the world’s most important nesting areas for Olive Ridley turtles. The high power lights at the Integrated Test Range Centre, a missile testing facility located near Nasi I and Nasi II nesting grounds of the sea turtles, are installed for its coastal security watch and vigil programme, the official said.

The rays of the mast lights are a major distracting factor for the sea turtles as they get disoriented while coming to Gahirmatha beach to lay eggs and move towards the test range centre, he said. The DRDO has covered the lights to reduce its intensity following a request by the state government. The endangered turtles travel all the way from the Pacific Ocean and visit the Odisha coast in November. They mate in December and January before the mass nesting, which takes place in the last week of February to the second week of March. —(PTI)