Prayagraj, Dec 26 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh forest department will create a new range for the tortoise sanctuary, which will come on the banks of Ganga in the Kothari village of Uruva area in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.

A proposal for the same has been prepared and sent to the government following which a team of officials and other supporting staff would be deployed at the sanctuary for its development,” said district forest officer (DFO), Mahavir Kaujalgi.

The new proposed forest range office will be built on the banks of Ganga in the village.

Apart from one ranger, eight forest inspectors, 16 constables, 12 other staff will also be deployed for the sanctuary.

Earlier, a Gazette notification was issued for the sanctuary covering 30 km of the catchment area of river Ganga and surrounding coastal areas spreading in 76 villages of Prayagraj, Mirzapur and Bhadohi. The sanctuary was located in Varanasi and after being shifted to a new location, tortoises were released in this sanctuary.

During the last one year, about 6,000 turtles, big and small, have been released in the sanctuary. Besides, the area is also known for conserving Dolphins too.

A team of scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) visited this sanctuary last week and they have suggested establishing six security posts and 15 watch towers on the banks of the tortoise sanctuary.

One of the senior scientists of the WWI team, S.K. Gupta, had also suggested the protection of turtle eggs in the sanctuary. Actually, turtles lay eggs outside the water on the banks of the river. In such a situation, their protection is a serious matter. Those places have been identified and the forest department is also preparing a security blueprint for special monitoring of these eggs, which is a vital component in increasing the population of turtles in the sanctuary and in river Ganga.