OES urges Odisha govt to commemorate 50 years of crocodile conservation

Bhubaneswar: As India marks 50 years of the launch of its National Crocodile Conservation Project, the Orissa Environmental Society (OES) has urged the state government to officially commemorate this historic milestone.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, OES working president Jaya Krushna Panigrahi called for state-level recognition of Odisha’s extraordinary contribution to crocodile conservation.

Back in early 1970s, India’s three native crocodile species — gharials, saltwater crocodiles, and muggers — are on the brink of extinction.

With support from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and UNDP, India launched its National Crocodile Conservation Project in 1975, selecting Odisha and Uttar Pradesh as pilot states. Odisha stood out as the only state where all three species existed in the wild.

PNN

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