Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The annual nesting season of the Olive Ridley turtles at the Rushikulya rookery in Ganjam district has created a new record of over 5.5 lakh nests this year. According to forest officials, the nest count was 5,50,317 on Sunday. ACF Berhampur Division Ashok Behera said mass nesting that started on March 27 is expected to continue for another couple of days but in a sporadic way.
The Olive Ridleys have already broken the record of mass nesting at the rookery this year. At 5,50,317 nests, this is the highest in last three decades and indicates that the environment of this coast continues to be conducive for their mass nesting, the ACF said.
Meanwhile, the Forest department has made arrangements for safe nesting by enforcing restrictions on the movement of fishing boats and illegal activities near the nesting site.” We will ensure that no problems occur during mass nesting,” said Berhampur DFO Amlan Nayak.
