Meet Afroz Shah, who helped bring turtles back to Mumbai's beaches

About 13 million kg of marine debris have been collected over 127 weeks by Shah and thousands of volunteers

A bunch of tiny creatures brought happy tidings to Mumbai’s Versova beach last week. Some 87 Olive Ridley turtles hatched out of their shells and slowly made their way to the sea, marking a return of the turtles to Mumbai’s shoreline after 20 years. “Two months ago, we were informed about a turtle sighting and were on the lookout for any activity,” says Afroz Shah, lawyer and social activist, who has been leading the Versova beach cleanup since 2015.

Olive Ridleys are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles, yet are listed as “vulnerable” because their population has been