Cuttack: In view of the rising deaths of Olive Ridley turtles, the Orissa High Court (OHC) has taken suo motu cognizance of an article recently published on the issue in an online news channel.
The court has also expressed its deep concern over the matter.
According to sources, a division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray issued notices to a number of government officials including Environment and Forest department Secretary.
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The court has asked the officials to apprise by February 26 about steps taken for handling crises reflected in the news article.
Notably, the article mentions deaths of some 800 turtles since January this year in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Kendrapara. The Olive Ridley turtles are in danger owing to presence of plastic, polythene and other non-biodegradable waste materials in the sanctuary, including the Rushikulya beach in Ganjam district.
The High Court observed that the matter was taken up by it and had also passed orders for several times in the past days since 1994.
PNN