Wildlife Week Observed at Khandia Muhana with Marine Biodiversity Awareness Programme

Balasore, Oct 8 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty):

On the concluding day of Wildlife Week, a marine biodiversity awareness and horseshoe crab rescue programme was organized jointly by the Association for Biodiversity Conservation (ABC), Blue-Blooded Crab and Marine Bio-Safety Forum, Fakir Mohan University, and the Forest Department.

At around 9 a.m., during the high tide, the team conducted a population count of the blue-blooded horseshoe crabs that had come ashore for nesting along the Khandia, Khapra, and Mahishali estuaries under Balasore Sadar Block. Upasana Pattanaik, Executive Member of ABC and Research Fellow at Fakir Mohan University, led an awareness drive among local villagers.

The programme was presided over by Dr. Gobinda Chandra Biswal, President of ABC. Aisha Nisha Dey, Ranger of Chandipur Range, attended as Chief Guest and urged villagers to take responsibility for protecting the rare blue-blooded horseshoe crabs and coastal casuarina forests. Artist Keshudas, President of the Blue-Blooded Crab and Marine Bio-Safety Forum, spoke on the cultural importance of conservation, while Dr. Niladri Bhusan Kar, Assistant Professor of Zoology at Fakir Mohan University, highlighted the ecological significance of the species. Soumyaranjan Dash, Project Fellow at Fakir Mohan University, proposed the vote of thanks.

Many students from the Department of Zoology, Fakir Mohan University, and local fishermen and villagers including Sushanta Das, Shukla Dalei, Bikram Soren, Shambhunath Dalei, and Kamalakanta Hazra participated.

Later, similar population counts were carried out at Khapra and Mahishali estuaries. Several pairs of entangled horseshoe crabs trapped in fishing nets were rescued and released back into the sea. Other beneficial aquatic species caught in nets were also freed and returned to the water.