Visakhapatnam District Collector A Mallikarjuna IAS has directed GVMC officials to establish no light zones at RK Beach to ensure turtle-friendly beaches. The collector made this directive during the district-level forest protection committee meeting held in the city on Tuesday, 6 June 2023, after being informed that the lighting provided as part of the beach beautification was affecting the turtle hatching process.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included forest land protection, surveys, tree plantation, and coastal protection. Collector Mallikarjuna instructed officials to take measures to prevent encroachment on forest lands and emphasised the need for increased vigilance throughout the district. He also urged the forest and GVMC officials to complete the geo-tagging of 15,000 plants by July and have them ready for plantation.
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Additionally, Mallikarjuna advised VMRDA personnel to begin the construction of a boundary wall around the reserve forest block in Islampeta village, Parawada Mandal. During the meeting, District Forest Officer Ananth Sankar informed the collector that 181 cases were booked during the 2022-23 financial year. The Collector also stressed the importance of monitoring illegal ganja cultivation and transportation and keeping an eye on unlawful sand mining.
Joint Collector KS Viswanathan, Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) curator Nandini Salaria IFS, and other officials were present at the meeting. It is already known that olive ridley turtles are released frequently into the ocean from the turtle-friendly enclosures set up on the beaches in Visakhapatnam.
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