New Delhi:
The critically endangered Red-Crowned Roofed Turtle has been reintroduced in the Ganga river as part of the government’s flagship programme of cleaning the river and enhancing its biodiversity.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil said, 20 such turtles were released in Uttar Pradesh’s Haiderpur Wetland On April 26.
माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi सर के नेतृत्व में चल रहे नमामि गंगे मिशन के तहत गंगा नदी में तीन दशक बाद रेड-क्राउन रूफ्ड टर्टल प्रजाति की वापसी संभव हो पाई है। यह वही प्रजाति है, जिसे उत्तर भारत की सबसे संकटग्रस्त प्रजातियों में गिना जाता था।
26 अप्रैल, 2025 को हैदरपुर… pic.twitter.com/HUc7lkuwr3
— C R Paatil (@CRPaatil) April 30, 2025
It is a UNESCO Ramsar site near the Bijnor Ganga Barrage within the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary. This human-made wetland was formed in 1984 with the Madhya Ganga Barrage construction on the river’s floodplain.
Believed to be on the brink of extinction in north India, the Red-Crowned Roofed Turtle has been reintroduced into the river through a carefully planned scientific rehabilitation effort, the minister said.
He described it as an important milestone in restoring the ecology of the Ganga river.
Each turtle has been fitted with tracking devices so that their movement patterns and progress in adapting to the environment can be monitored.
Mr Patli credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his vision that took the shape of the Namami Gange Mission for the turtle reintroduction initiative.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
