VARANASI, May 22 -- The Sarnath Turtle Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre, which was renovated and redeveloped in 2017, has conserved 3,298 turtles from 2017 to 2025 and released them into the Ganga to keep the ecosystem of the river healthy in Varanasi.

The Sarnath Turtle Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre, an important centre of aquatic biodiversity, has emerged as an example of success of conservation in the Ganga River Basin. The inclusion of the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in Namami Gange since 2017 has also reduced smuggling of turtles.

Chief forest conservator, Varanasi Division, Dr Ravi Kumar Singh, said that in the last eight years, 3,231 eggs were hatched at the Turtle Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre and were released in d...