Orissa worships turtle with Lord's features

Bhubaneswar: A rare species of fresh water turtle with features resembling Lord Jagannath has become the centre of attraction among the people in the village of Khadipal in Orissa’s Kendrapara district, nearly 150 km from here.

People from the surrounding areas have been thronging the village to worship the turtle, kept at a temple, believing it to be an incarnation of Lord Jagannath, the reigning deity of Orissa.

The carapace of the turtle sported some "divine" images, resembling the eyes, mouth and nose of Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of the 12th century shrine at Puri, about 65 km from here.

The turtle was spotted by some priests near a mutt in the village on Thursday.

"As we (priests) were about to conduct evening prayer in the mutt, we noticed the tortoise crawling on the
bank of the nearby pond. When we trapped it and washed its shell, we were amazed to find divine symbols
of Padma (lotus) and chakra (wheel) on it", chief priest of the mutt Baba Ramdas told this newspaper.

Fascinated by its "divine" features, the saints put it in the village temple.

As the news of appearance of the rare turtle spread in the surrounding areas like wild fire, people from
nearby villages poured into the temple to have glimpse of the reptile and seek blessings.

"We are organising Bhajans and prayers near the turtle", he said.

Noted zoologist Manohar Parija, however, identified the rare tortoise as a species of Indian soft shell turtle (
Aspideretes gangeticus).

"This turtle is one of the most critically endangered species of fresh water turtle in the country. It is
currently classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the status accorded to tigers
and pandas. It is also a Schedule I protected reptile under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972", Mr Parija,
who has made a thorough scrutiny of the turtle, told this newspaper.

"Threats to its existence primarily emanated from over-harvesting by hunters for its meat and egg, as well as
habitat destruction due to construction of dams, irrigation projects and dredging activities", he said.