Chennai: At the break of dawn on Sunday, hundreds of people took to running for a cause along Marina Beach with children as young as five-year-old running along with their parents, to help create awareness about the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
Over 5,000 people came together to participate in the run to create awareness about the dwindling population of Olive Ridley turtles visiting the shores of the state. As part of the ‘Save a Turtle’ campaign to spread awareness, three series of run categories — 1km, 3km and 5km — were organised along the Marina beach from Gandhi statue.
“Last year, the same event saw over 3,000 registrations and we were expecting similar participation but today there were close to 5,000 registrations. It was a great sight to see so many people come together to contribute to a cause,” said T. Vijayarani, one of the organisers.
“The turtles coming to lay eggs on the seashore are at a risk from fishing activities. They get killed by trawlers, or get tangled in the fishing nets, which injures them,” she said.
As part of the awareness programme, Turtle Excluder Devices (TED) are being given to fishermen by using the money from the programme. Such devices allow turtles, which otherwise get caught in fishing nets, to escape without getting tangled. “The money from registration for the run would be spent on creating awareness among the fishermen community, autopsies of turtles, awareness activities, and salaries for night walkers, and setting hatcheries,” said Hafiz Khan, an organiser.
Members of the campaign now invite volunteers for baby turtle farewell, an initiative to release turtle hatchlings into the sea, expected to happen in the coming month.
