As Lok Sabha race heats up, a ‘critically endangered’ turtle revered as god becomes poll mascot in Bengal

Recognising this strong bond, the Election Commission (EC) has adopted “Mohan Babu” as its poll mascot to get people out to the polling booths on April 19 — not that turnout is a problem in Cooch Behar, where polling has crossed 80% in all parliamentary polls since 1999. The EC, which had used “Mohan Babu” during the 2021 Assembly elections too, has plastered photos of the smiling turtle across the constituency, with a message to people to vote.

“Local people revere the turtles. So, we thought it was a good idea to use them to reach out to voters using the turtle and spread voter awareness,” Cooch Behar District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Meena tells The Indian Express.

Parimal Burman, TMC leader and the president of Mohon Rakkha Committee, at his house in Baneswar. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Though the EC has taken note of the turtles’ importance, Baneswar residents allege the government has done little to protect the reptiles apart from putting up hoardings on the Cooch Behar-Alipurduar Road telling drivers to slow down in the “turtle corridor”.

“We always knew that there were Mohans here. In 2002, when the pond attached to the temple was being cleaned after draining the water, locals discovered Mohans. I was there,” said Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad board member Parimal Burman, who is also the president of the Mohan Raksha Committee formed that year. “We consider Mohan to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu (Kurma avatar). As per folklore, a king of Cooch Behar brought the turtles here from Assam.”

The residents of Baneswar and the nearby villages of Aambari and Gopalpur joined the committee, which at present has 300 members, to protect and feed the turtles in the temple pond. Trouble started in 2007 after then District Magistrate Rabinder Singh, who was also the chairperson of the temple deity trust, gave the local gram panchayat responsibility to maintain the temple pond and the ones nearby.

“The panchayat erected a concrete wall around the pond, disrupting the natural habitat of the turtles that used to lay eggs nearby,” said Ranjan Shil, the secretary of the Mohan Raksha Committee.

The temple pond is home to endangered black softshell turtles that are revered as the incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu.

“The concrete wall stopped their movement towards land and gradually their numbers came down. Many died. We were forced to hit the streets and started a movement to save these turtles,” said Burman. In 2008-09, after the deaths of several turtles, the committee moved the Calcutta High Court. “The court ordered the district administration to break the wall and return the responsibility of maintaining the pond to the temple trust,” said Burman.

But this did not stop the deaths of the endangered species. The turtles got crushed while crossing roads or a railway track right next to the temple on their way to lay eggs. The turtles that hatched also did not survive the return journey. Over the years, Burman claimed, numerous letters were sent to the district administration, the state government and even the Chief Minister’s Office. “But nothing happened,” he said.

Things came to a head last November when 10 turtles died within three days, taking the toll to 41 for the year. On November 3, the residents of Baneswar called a general strike. “After the bandh, the administration installed a caution board instructing that the speed limit of vehicles in this stretch should be under 20 km per hour. However, the administration has yet to install thirteen underground corridors to facilitate the movement of the turtles,” said Shil.

Since the endangered turtles would get crushed while crossing roads or the railway track right next to the temple to lay eggs, a caution board with a speed limit for vehicles has been installed. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Among other things, the committee has also demanded the deployment of a sufficient number of guards and police officials in the temple area to prevent any smuggling of the turtles. “We wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who personally knew about Mohan and expressed interest in the conservation of the turtles. We will wait till the Lok Sabha election and restart our movement if the promises are not fulfilled,” said Burman.

Meena said, “We are aware of the demands. We have forwarded a detailed project report (DPR) to the state government. Some measures have been implemented, including the speed-limit boards.”

Conservationists said there was a need to establish a proper habitat in the temple complex. “It is not a native species of Baneswar. As per folklore, a king of Cooch Behar got the animals as dowry from Assam. Villagers who revere the turtles protect them. But that is not enough,“ said leading aquatic wildlife biologist Shailendra Singh, who is a Director at the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) Foundation India.

Society for Protection of Ophiofauna and Animal Rights spokesperson S P Pandey said, “We forwarded a proposal to the then District Magistrate in 2019. There is no space around the pond for the turtles to lay eggs. This makes them venture out. Space should be made for that. Secondly, the pond is overpopulated and there should be a population balance. Nothing happened after our proposal.”

In Assam, several black softshell turtles in temple ponds were successfully released in the wild. The project ran in three to four temples from 2012 to 2020. “Our final goal should be to release them in the wild as the ponds are mostly overpopulated. We released around 300 such turtles in the wild. The present population in temple ponds may not survive in the wild but the next generation could. There must be synergy between temple bodies and researchers,” said Guwahati-based herpetologist Jayaditya Purkayastha.