Bhubaneswar: Local residents have joined hands to protect the endangered olive ridley turtles nesting on the beaches close to Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district.

Residents of Purunabandha, Gokharkuda, Podampetta and Kantiagarh villages are keeping a round-the-clock watch on the beaches to ensure that no one harms these marine creatures that travelled thousands of miles in the sea to reach the Odisha coast for nesting.

"We also keep predators like dogs and kites away from the eggs which the turtles lay in large numbers after digging holes in the sand," said Wardi Kashina, a fisherman from Gokharkuda.

This year, the nesting of turtles has taken place in phases since February. Ganjam divisional forest officer Ashish Kumar Behera said that more than 1.12 turtles laid eggs on the beaches at the Rushikulya river mouth on February 22 and the number reached 1.17 lakh the next day. After a brief hiatus nesting started again in April. The officer estimated that these marine reptiles must have laid around two crore eggs by now.

Behera said forest officials had been doing their best to ensure the safety of olive ridleys and the local people had been equally enthusiastic about protecting the endangered species. "It is not just turtles, they have also been protecting many other wildlife species with the same enthusiasm. For example, black bucks in the Betnai-Balipadar area of the district have been thriving under the care of local residents," Behera said. He said the district had a tradition of caring for wildlife animals since the days of British rule.

"In places like Ghodahad dam, about 60 to 70 km from Berhampur, people conserve mugger crocodiles. There is another dam close by where fish and crocodiles live in harmony with local residents nurturing both," Behera said.

At present, the focus is on turtle protection on the beaches around the Rushikulya river mouth which is among the three largest rookeries of olive ridleys.