HC reserves order on PIL against shifting Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary from Varanasi

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a Public Interest Litigation challenging the denotification and shifting of Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary from Varanasi to an area near Mirzapur.

It was alleged by the petitioner that the sanctuary is being shifted only to make way for inland vessels which will come to River Ganga in Varanasi under a government project facilitating transportation through waterways.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Dr YK Srivastava reserved its order after hearing the petition filed by Bharat Jhunjhunwala, an environmental activist and a retired professor of IIM Bangalore.

According to the petitioner, the Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary was notified in 1986 and established thereafter in a seven kilometer area of River Ganga between Ramnagar and Malviya bridge of Varanasi.

He claimed that studies across the world have shown that movement of vessels in river adversely affects aquatic life. Therefore, such projects should not be permitted.