Bhubaneswar: The world is fighting the battle against Coronavirus united and as a precaution more than three fourths of the population is in lockdown mode. India and that too Odisha is also not an exception to this. Odisha announced complete lockdown in the state to stop the deadly virus at bay and allowed only essential services movement.
The union government has also declared a 21 day lockdown in the country leading to stoppage of all kinds of transportation excluding essentials. On an average only about 5 to 10 percent of the goods carrying vehicles can be seen on the roads.
The once crowded shopping malls and markets are today look like deserted haunted places. The national and state highways that saw movement of lakhs of vehicles are today empty and few carrying essential items can be seen on the roads. There is a curfew…there is a lockdown….there is a fear among the people that is keeping them inside homes. The fear of coming in contact with virus has led to people stay home.
With the nationwide lockdown in its 4th day only, there has been a significant change in the environment. The change is clearly visible in terms of cleanliness of roads and streets, clearer sky and clean air. The positive impact of lockdown on the urban environment in Odisha is an outcome of the closure of a large number of manufacturing units and factories. There are less numbers of vehicles on the road to pollute the air. Today, we can see squirrels, mongoose and pigeons on the roads roaming freely without fear of being impacted by humans.
The smoke guns of the factories are silent and there is less Co2 in the environment today. Data shows that the present levels of pollution in major cities of Odisha witnessed a positive change. And the condition is going to improve more in the coming days due to the lockdown.
The major beneficiaries of the lockdown have been the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles which are today free to visit any beach along the Odisha coast without the fear of being caught in the fishing nets and coming across boats. The highly endangered Olive Ridleys in Odisha’s coasts particularly Gahirmatha and the Rushikulya delta are back in record numbers. They are today laying eggs on the coast without the fear of being affected by humans.
According to the Odisha Forest Department, over 72,142 Olive Ridleys have arrived at the Rushikulya beach to dig nests and lay eggs in the last week. The total number of turtles laying their eggs till now has reached about 8 lakhs.
This clearly shows that the nature is safe when we keep ourselves away from unnecessary overcrowding. The temporary lockdown may be bringing some difficulty for us but it has been a boon for the environment and nature.
ARRIBADA ~Spanish Word – means ‘Arrival’ ?
Refers to mass-nesting event when 1000s of Turtles come ashore at the same time to lay eggs on the same beach.
Interestingly, females return to the very same beach from where they first hatched, to lay their eggs.
?️ Olive Ridley Turtle pic.twitter.com/dvzslqA8zW— Ankit Kumar, IFS (@AnkitKumar_IFS) March 26, 2020